States: Calcutta: Return Present

The appointment of the chief minister's biographer as pro vice-chancellor of Calcutta University rankles not only the Opposition but also CPI(M) allies.

Though Basu denies any hand in Banerjee's selection, even the Left allies were not consulted on the issue

Jyoti Basu: "Where have you heard the line, 'there is a tide in the affairs of men'?"
Surabhi Banerjee: "Julius Caesar."

Jyoti Basu: "Now locate this line, 'What a piece of work is man'."
Surabhi Banerjee: "Hamlet."

The first round of interviews for a modest literature teacher's post? Certainly not. It took place at the CPI(M)'s headquarters on Alimuddin Street in the early '80s, when Chief Minister Jyoti Basu met a young English literature professor for the first time and was clearly impressed by her responses to his (decidedly elementary) questions. It was a lasting impression: one that led to Surabhi Banerjee becoming Basu's authorised biographer. And, last week, pro vice-chancellor of Calcutta University (CU).

CRONIES PREFERRED

BHARATI RAY: Former pro vice-chancellor, CU. Was given a Rajya Sabha ticket by the CPI(M)

RAJAT BANDYOPADHYAY: Former confidential assistant to senior minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya is now registrar, Jadavpur University

RATHINDRA NARAYAN BASU: VC, CU, was reappointed since he is considered close to the party

DILIP K. BASU: VC, Burdwan University, considered close to the CPI(M)

BASUDEB BURMAN: VC, Kalyani University, close CPI(M) links

In her late 40s, Banerjee is the author of 15 books on various aspects of Indian and European literature and a prolific biographer and translator. But With the People, the authorised biography of Basu, is the one book that she would rather not have written. Then again, ask Basu's critics (and they have grown considerably in number after Banerjee's elevation from head of the department of English), would Banerjee be holding her present prestigious post if she hadn't?

Banerjee's appointment came quietly. CU Vice-Chancellor Rathindra Narayan Basu handed over charge on March 5. The CPI(M) mouthpiece, Ganashakti, carried only a paragraph report buried in the inside pages the next day but it was enough to start a row that refused to die down. Opposition political parties, the CPI(M)'s allies in the Left Front and the academic establishment all expressed outrage. A section of the CPI(M) fell silent. And Basu retorted angrily to questions: "Why question me about the appointment? Ask the governor who is the authority."

Sure. But this case was a little different. "The governor told me he was given a prepared file to sign," said Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee after her meeting with Governor A.R. Kidwai who is also the chancellor of CU. The file usually goes to the governor once the university's Senate Syndicate suggests three names for such positions. In West Bengal, however, it is almost an unwritten rule that the Left Front's Education Cell makes the list for the Syndicate. But in this case even the cell had no role to play. Says Shyamapada Ghoshal of the Forward Bloc, a member of the cell: "We were never consulted. But we heard rumours that Banerjee, as Basu's biographer, was the favourite to get the post."

The Forward Bloc isn't the only CPI(M) ally that has criticised the appointment. RSP leaders too have reacted sharply: "It is the CPI(M)'s appointment, they should take the flak for it." The RSP's draft report on the current political situation in the state itself is unflattering: "It is being observed with concern and dismay that many major decisions are being taken bypassing the Left Front Committee."

In the present case, however, the CPI(M) leadership too seems to have been bypassed. Basu's close links with Banerjee also are under scrutiny. After all, this is not the first favour that Basu has granted his Boswell. Banerjee's husband received a 4,000 sq ft commercial plot in Salt Lake, to the east of the city, from the chief minister's quota even before the biography was published (in 1997). Insiders say that even staunch Basu men like CPI(M) State Unit Secretary Anil Biswas (known as "super vice-chancellor" because of his invisible hand in most important academic appointments) made mild noises. But Basu would have none of it.

The book that changed Banerjee's fortune, is, incidentally, a pedestrian work made worse by a number of factual errors. To cite just a few: she has attributed the slogan "Garibi Hatao" to Nehru instead of Indira Gandhi; says the split in the Congress party took place in 1969 and not 1967; claims the Communist Party was unconcerned about the Quit India movement of 1942 when it was opposed to it. Basu may or may not have seen the bloomers. But what he certainly doesn't see is that future (unauthorised, most likely) biographies will surely treat his role in Surabhi Banerjee's appointment as a political bloomer. It wouldn't be factually incorrect either.