Basu’s brain to be preserved for study

Doctors at the Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER) here began the dissection of the body of veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on Wednesday and have taken measures to preserve his brain for the purpose of carrying out medical research.

“We will be dissecting his body over the coming days and whichever organs are found to be in a suitable condition will be preserved,” said Dr. Asis Kumar Datta, the head of the department of anatomy.
“Not badly affected”

On being asked if his brain had been affected by the septicaemia, (leading to multiple organ failure which caused Jyoti Basu’s death), Dr. Datta said that only a dissection of the brain will reveal if there was any damage caused by the infection, but from the outside it doesn’t seem to have been too badly affected.

“So far we have preserved it in an intact state, in case it is required in future for carrying out medical research,” he said, adding that it was being preserved in a solution of alcohol and glycerine.

The 95-year-old Jyoti Basu, who passed away at a city hospital on January 17, after being critically ill for 11 days, had pledged his body for medical research.
“No request received”

IPGMER Director Dr. Pradip Mitra said the institute did not receive any request from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) at Bangalore for handing over the brain of Jyoti Basu for the purpose of conducting research.

A few days after his death, Dr. S.K. Shankar, Professor and Head of Neuropathology at NIMHANS said the institute was keen on conducting research on Jyoti Basu’s brain, as a nonagenarian’s is always of interest to neuro-scientists, keen to study age-related and associated neurodegenerative changes.

While the Marxist veteran’s body was donated on January 19 amid a last farewell by multitudes of people, his eyes were taken away within the stipulated time at the hospital, where he stayed since being admitted with pneumonia on January 1.

Mourners pay homage as Jyoti Basu’s body lies in state

An endless stream of mourners filed past the body of former Chief Minister and CPI(M) legend Jyoti Basu draped in the national tri-colour as it lay in state at the West Bengal Assembly this morning.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who flew in here, paid floral tributes to Basu at the Assembly premises. She was accompanied by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury were also present on the occasion. Mr. Basu will be given a state funeral with military honours before the mortal remains are donated to the state-owned SSKM Hospital for medical research.

Mourners stood in queues stretching half-a-kilometre with garlands and wreaths to wait their turn for paying homage.

The body of Basu was brought to the Assembly at 10:10 am after briefly halting at CPI(M)’s state party headquarters at Alimuddin Street and at state secretariat, Writers’ Buildings, which was his office for 23 years from 1977. The Chief Minister and Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborty placed wreaths there.

The national tri-colour was draped on the body over the party’s red flag with personnel drawn from the Army, Navy and Air Force standing at attention. A large portrait of Basu with folded hands formed the background.

Basu last attended the assembly on February 1, 2001 where he was given a reception by Speaker H A Halim for his over 50 year of dedicated service to the people.

Jyoti Basu dies of multi-organ failure

Jyoti Basu, who strode the political arena like a colossus for over six decades, died here on Sunday of multi-organ failure after being struck by pneumonia 17 days ago.

Left Front chairman Biman Bose, who together with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee rushed to the hospital, broke down while announcing “I have a sad announcement to make. Jyoti Basu is no more with us.”

Mr. Basu’s personal physician Dr. Ajit Kumar Maity said that he breathed his last at 11:47 a.m. at the AMRI Hospital where he was admitted with pneumonia on January 1.

The former West Bengal Chief Minister was 95 and is survived by son Chandan. His wife Kamal pre-deceased him four years ago.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who was in the city rushed to the hospital, and said “We have just learnt that Jyoti Basu, formally known as Jyoti Babu, has passed away.

“He strode like a colossus on the Indian political scene for several decades. He was a great patriot, a great democrat. He lived a full life,” Mr. Chidambaram said.

“For the last fortnight, he suffered a lot. The West Bengal government has provided him with the best medical care in the country. We are deeply sad at his passing away.I offer my sincere condolence to his family and the people of West Bengal.

A political legend, Mr. Basu became the longest serving chief minister of West Bengal for 23 years from 1997 at the head of CPI(M)-headed Left Front government.

Mr. Basu had suffered multi-organ failure and was put on a temporary pacemaker late last night.

He had been put on Slow Low Efficiency Daily Dialysis (SLEDD), but it was stopped after he was unable to tolerate it beyond seven-and-a-half hours on Saturday.

Mr. Basu’s son, Chandan, daughter-in-law Rakhi, grand daughters Payel, Doyel and Koyel were at the hospital.

Left Front ministers, Pratim Chatterjee, Kiranmoy Nanda, Sudarshan Roychowdhury, Ranjit Kundu were at AMRI.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, veteran Forward Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh and a host of Left Party leaders visited the hospital.

CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat was among other leaders who visited the hospital.

Mr. Basu’s body will be taken to funeral parlour Peace Haven at 2:00 p.m. from the hospital, party leader Shyamal Chakraborty said.

He said people were flocking to the hospital after learning of Mr. Basu’s death. “But there are other patients here who will be inconvenienced if the body is kept here. So we have decided to take his body to Peace Haven.”

Other arrangements would be decided later, he said.