Former West bengal Chief Minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray died tonight at his South Kolkata residence.
Ray, a notable barrister, belonged to that breed of politicians of yesteryears which joined politics to make impact in public life. His maternal grandfather was the legendary freedom fighter Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, who was a leading figure in the Indian National Congress till his untimely death. Thus, Ray was born truly in the cradle of the freedom movement. However, his political life started surprisingly late, in the independent India. As a young but successful barrister, Ray was drawn into politics by another politician-turned-barrister Ashok K Sen. Interestingly; the two had a family connection with late C R Das — Ray by birth and Sen by marriage.
His initial days in politics, as a young minister in B C Roy’s Cabinet were not of much significance. However, his rise to fame, or ill-fame, took place in the late 60s and in the first half of 70s, when he became a close ally of Indira Gandhi. With the political pedigree in place and the association of student days in England, Ray was easily found a place in her close quarters. He stood by Gandhi in her battle against senior party leaders and through the critical days of Bangladesh war. During 1967-72 Ray was the education minister in her Cabinet. After the electoral victory in 1972, he was sent to West Bengal as the chief minister, though this did not jeopardise his role as a confidante.
History will perhaps judge Ray for his role as one of the key players who tried to subvert the democratic system of our country. In 1974, faced with the dual challenge of the historic judgment of Allahabad High Court nullifying Gandhi’s election to Parliament and the Jayprakash Narayan-led mass movement against her regime, Gandhi resorted to declaring internal Emergency. Ray was one of the key men who advised her to follow that course. Like many barrister-politicians, he had an indifferent attitude towards plebeians, and it was amply manifested when, as a CM, he allowed his administration to unleash a reign of terror against its own people in the name of suppressing the Naxalite movement.
