Professor -turned-politician Krishna Bose died on Saturday due to age-related ailments. She was 89. Bose, the former Trinamul Congress MP from the Jadavpur constituency, was unwell for quite some time, family sources said. She died at a private hospital off EM Bypass at 10.22 a.m, they said.
Bose was admitted to the hospital with irregular heart beat on 16 February and suffered a cerebral attack on17 February and remained in critical condition, hospital sources said. “She was suffering from age-related ailments for quite some time. She suffered her second stroke a few days ago and was admitted to the ICU,” a family member said. She was married to Sisir Kumar Bose, nephew of Subhas Chandra Bose.
Born on December 26, 1930, to constitutional expert Charu Chandra Chaudhuri in Dhaka, Bose taught at the City College in Kolkata for around 40 years. She headed the English department for several years and later also became the principal of the college. Though Bose started in active politics as a member of the Congress, she was close to Mamata Banerjee and switched sides when the Trinamul Congress was formed.
“I lost someone respected, loved & admired by me. Saddened & shocked to hear about the demise of Krishna Basu, ex-TMC MP & wife of freedom fighter Dr Sisir Bose. Being a part of Netaji’s family, she was a revered social reformer, renowned poet & a courageous educationalist,” Miss Banerjee said in a tweet.
“Krishna di was a mother to her sons Sumantra & Sugata, daughter Sarmila as well as the whole Trinamul family. Her immense contribution to Indian society & Bengali culture will be revered for times to come,” she added. Bose was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 on a Congress ticket, then in 1998 and 1999 as a Trinamul Congress candidate. She is survived by sons Sugata and Sumantra, and daughter Sharmila. Sugata, the Gardiner Professor of History at Harvard University, had won from the Jadavpur constituency on a Trinamul Congress ticket in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Bose was Chair of the Council of the Netaji Research Bureau and also headed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs during her third stint as MP. Bose has written several books, including Netaji: A Biography for the Young, Ek Nambar Bariand An Outsider in Politics.
Her body was taken to her Sarat Bose Road residence in south Kolkata around 1 p.m. and then it was brought to Netaji Bhavan on Elgin Road, according to family sources. The chief minister visited Netaji Bhavan where hundreds of the former lawmaker’s followers were present. She was cremated in the evening at Kerotala burning ghat.