Remembering Jyoti Basu

Are we indulging in that old practice of "do not speak ill of the dead?"
The truth of the matter is that West Bengal, once home to the capital city of the British Raj, is in decline.
But perhaps that reflects on the caliber of the people of the state more than it does on the caliber of the leadership or the ideology of governance.
Jyoti Basu's achievements in the area of land reforms is touted as a great achievement and it is one. In a country as endemically poor as India, providing land to millions of landless peasants is indeed a great achievement.
But Bengal has lagged behind in industrialization in comparison to other states.
Perhaps the present government realizes that fact and is trying to make up for past mistakes.
My wish is to see Bengal prosper since Bengalis are a people with great intellectual abilities.

I also remember all these encomiums being bestowed on Reagan when he died and I was wondering about all his achievements as a President.
I was also wondering yesterday about how many of the young generation of Indians would have heard of this man ...