18 Jan 2010

Veteran communist leader dies

2:59 pm on 18 January 2010

A veteran communist leader in India has died after a long illness.

Jyoti Basu, 95, led the Communist Party of India-Marxist and was chief minister of West Bengal state from 1977 to 2000.

The BBC reports he was credited with restoring stability to the state, and bringing in land reforms.