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( May 2011 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu in Calcutta on 21 December 1996 6th Chief Minister of West Bengal In office 21 June 1977 -- 6 November 2000 Preceded by President 's rule Succeeded by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly In office 1977 -- 2001 Preceded by New constituency Succeeded by Sonali Guha Constituency Satgachhia Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly In office 1951 -- 1972 Preceded by New constituency Succeeded by Shiba Pada Bhattacharjee Constituency Baranagar Personal details Jyotirindra Basu ( 1914 - 07 - 08 ) 8 July 1914 Calcutta , Bengal Presidency , British India ( now Kolkata , West Bengal , India ) 17 January 2010 ( 2010 - 01 - 17 ) ( aged 95 ) Kolkata , West Bengal , India Resting place Indira Bhavan Nationality Indian Political party Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) Spouse ( s ) Basanti Basu ( 1940 -- 1942 ) Kamala Basu ( 1948 -- 2003 ) Children Chandan Basu Residence Kolkata , West Bengal , India Alma mater University of Calcutta London School of Economics Occupation Politician Signature Website www.jyotibasu.net As of 17 January , 2010 ( aged 95 ) Source : Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) Jyotirindra Basu ( 8 July 1914 -- 17 January 2010 ) ; known as Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) from West Bengal , India . He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal state from 1977 to 2000 , making him the longest - serving Chief Minister in the country 's history . Basu was a member of the CPI ( M ) Politburo from the time of the party 's founding ( The CPI ( M ) was formed at the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of India held in Calcutta from 31 October to 7 November 1964 ) in 1964 until 2008 . From 2008 until his death in 2010 he remained a permanent invitee to the central committee of the party . Contents ( hide ) 1 Birth and education 2 Return to India and marriage 3 Political career 3.1 Entry into politics 3.2 Later political career 3.3 As the Chief Minister of West Bengal 3.4 Criticism 4 Death , tribute and legacy 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Birth and education ( edit ) Paternal house of Jyoti Basu at Barodi in Narayanganj , Bangladesh Jyotirindra Basu was born 8 July 1914 at 43 / 1 Harrison Road ( now Mahatma Gandhi Road ) in Kolkata ( then known as Calcutta ) into a very affluent family . His father , Nishikanta Basu , was a doctor settled in Kolkata who hailed from the village of Barudi in Narayanganj District , East Bengal ( Bangladesh ) , while his mother Hemalata Basu was a housewife . Basu grew up in a large Indian - style joint family , consisting of his parents , siblings , paternal uncles , their wives and children . The family , who had lived in a rented house in Kolkata in addition to retaining ancestral properties East Bengal , purchased a spacious mansion at 55 - A , Hindustan Road in 1920 , and this is where Basu grew up . Basu 's schooling started at Loreto School at Dharmatala in Kolkata in 1920 , and he was moved in 1925 to St. Xavier 's School . While admitting him to school , Basu 's father shortened his name from Jyotirindra Basu to Jyoti Basu , and the shortened name stuck for life . After completing school , Basu took an undergraduate degree in English literature honours from Presidency College , University of Calcutta . After completing his undergraduate studies , Basu left for England to study law in 1935 . In England , he was introduced to politics and became greatly influenced by the Communist Party of Great Britain . He attended lectures by Harold Laski at the London School of Economics and was also influenced by noted Communist ideologue and prolific writer Rajani Palme Dutt , a fellow Bengali . Between 1936 and 1940 , Basu involved himself in various political activities , came into contact with several Indian freedom fighters including Nehru , became a member of the India league , and joined the London Majlis . A fuller account of these years is found in a later section . Basu completed his studies in 1939 and was invited to the Middle Temple as a Barrister in 1939 . Shortly afterwards , he returned to India by sea , docking at Mumbai and travelling from there to Kolkata by train . Return to India and marriage ( edit ) Basu reached Kolkata and was reunited with his parents on January 1 , 1940 . While he was in London , his parents had selected a suitable bride for him and informed him of their choice . Like a normal Indian boy of his generation , Basu had replied that if the girl was acceptable to his parents , she was acceptable to him . The two sets of parents had then made arrangements for the wedding , and on Jan 20 , 1940 , only nineteen days after his return to India , Basu was married to Basanti Devi ( née Ghose , fondly known as ' Chobi ' ) , a girl of his own caste and similar family background . Unfortunately , Basanti died in 1942 , hardly two years after the wedding , and there were no surviving children . Basu 's mother , Hemalata Devi , also died a few months later , in 1942 . After returning to India , Basu had become an active member of the Communist Party , to his father 's chagrin . After Basanti 's death , he deepened his involvement , virtually giving up the pretense of earning a living as a lawyer . His legal practice was mostly about providing legal services pro bono to the party and its affiliates , in particular to trade unions . He lived as always with his father and extended family ( as per Indian custom ) and thus had little need to earn a living . As a young barrister studying in England , he had been a prize catch for any family with a marriageable daughter , but the situation was altered now , and proposals were not plentiful . Several years passed , and Basu 's father and other family members grew anxious to see him settled again . In time , they arranged for him to marry another suitable girl of their caste and background . This was Kamala , who Basu married on Dec 5 , 1948 . The marriage , which conformed in every way to Indian tradition and convention , was harmonious and lasted until their deaths more than sixty years later . On Aug 31 , 1951 , the couple became the parents of a girl child , born at Sishumangal Hospital in Kolkata . Tragically , the unnamed baby died only a few days later of diarrhoea and dehydration . In 1952 , the couple were blessed with the birth of a son , Subhabrata Basu , fondly known as ' Chandan ' by one and all . Chandan , who was to be the couple 's only surviving child , was born while Basu was in prison for allegedly seditious activities , having been incarcerated by the Congress - led government of independent India . Shortly after Chandan was born , Basu 's father , Nishikant Basu , wrote a will which disinherited Basu entirely and vested all his property , a considerable fortune which included the massive mansion in Kokata , in the name of his daughter - in - law Kamala , with provision that the property be inherited by Chandan eventually . The elderly bhadralok patrician had been aghast , even distraught , to find that his beloved son had returned from England a communist , and that he had developed over the next decade ( the 1940s ) into a violent revolutionary . Basu was to say later that the arrangement suited him perfectly , that indeed it had been devised in consultation with him ; it ensured that Kamala was always able to feed the family and pay for her son 's education , which left Basu free from the tension of having to provide for his wife and son , and enabled him to pursue his political activities exactly as he wanted . Political career ( edit ) Entry into politics ( edit ) Part of a series on Communism in India Personalities ( show ) M.P.T. Acharya Abani Mukherji M.N. Roy P. Krishna Pillai Puran Chand Joshi A.K. Gopalan Ajoy Ghosh Puchalapalli Sundaraiah Bhupesh Gupta B.T. Ranadive Shibdas Ghosh E.M.S. Namboodiripad Charu Majumdar T. Nagi Reddy Saroj Dutta Kondapalli Seetharamaiah E.K. Nayanar Geeta Mukherjee Mohit Sen Indrajit Gupta Vinod Mishra Ganapathy Harkishan Singh Surjeet Jyoti Basu V.S. Achuthanandan Sitaram Yechury Colonial Period and Partition ( show ) Labour Kisan Party Workers and Peasants Party Comrades Association Tebhaga movement Telangana Rebellion Communist Party of French India Lal Communist Party 2nd Party Congress Cold War years ( show ) Naxalbari uprising Srikakulam CPI ( M-L ) Contemporary movements ( show ) CPI ( M ) CPI CPI ( ML ) Liberation SUCI ( C ) Other articles ( show ) Lal Salam Communism in Kerala Communism portal Jyoti Basu 's first track in politics was his effort to organise the Indian students studying in United Kingdom , mostly for the cause of Indian independence . Basu subsequently joined India League and London Majlis , both the organisations being communities of overseas Indian students . Basu was later elected the General Secretary of London Majlish . Basu was given the responsibility for arranging a meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru during Nehru 's visit to London in 1938 . The same was done after Subhas Chandra Bose went to England . As a member of London Majlis , Basu introduced the visiting Indian political figures to the leaders of the Labour Party . Basu was introduced to the Communist Party of Great Britain by another communist leader and Basu 's friend in England , Bhupesh Gupta . It is told Basu showed interest to join CPGB but the then Secretary General Harry Pollitt suggested that he should not do so , possibly because CPGB was then banned in India and Pollitt speculated Basu could have difficulties in returning to India as a member of CPGB . However Basu returned to India in 1940 and immediately contacted the Party leaders . Though he enrolled himself as a barrister in Calcutta High Court , he never practised simply because he was determined to become a wholetimer of the Party . Basu became the secretary of Friends of Soviet Union and Anti-Fascist Writers ' Association in Kolkata . As a member of the Party , his initial task was to maintain liaison with underground Party leaders . He was entrusted with responsibilities on the trade union front from 1944 . In that year , Bengal Assam Railroad Workers ' Union was formed and Basu became its first secretary . In 1944 Basu became involved in trade union activities when CPI delegated him to work amongst the railway labourers . When B.N. Railway Workers Union and B.D. Rail Road Workers Union merged , Basu became the general secretary of the union . In 1946 , Basu was elected to the Bengal Provincial Assembly from the Railway Workers constituency . Ratanlal Bramhan and Rupnarayan Roy were the other two Communists who were elected . From that day on , Basu became one of the most popular and influential legislators for decades to come . Basu played a very active role in the stormy days of 1946 -- 47 when Bengal witnessed the Tebhaga movement , workers strikes and even communal riots . In the late 1940s , Basu served as the Vice-President of the All India Railwaymen 's Federation until Communists were expelled from the union for attempt to organize strikes after the union had withdrawn its strike notice . Jyoti Basu was the secretary of the West Bengal Provincial Committee of the Party from 1953 to January 1961 . He was elected to the Central Committee of the Party in 1951 . He was a member of the Politburo from 1964 onwards . He was elected as a special invitee to PB in 19th Congress of the Party in 2008 . After the country gained independence , he was elected to the assembly from Baranagar in 1952 . He was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1952 , 1957 , 1962 , 1967 , 1969 , 1971 , 1977 , 1982 , 1987 , 1991 and 1996 . Though an elected member , Basu was arrested several times during the 1950s and 60s and for certain periods he went underground to evade arrest by the police . In 1962 , Jyoti Basu was one amongst the 32 members of the National Council who walked out of the meeting . When the CPI ( M ) was formed in 1964 as a result of the ideological struggle within the Communist movement , Basu became a member of the Politburo . He was , in fact , the last surviving member of the `` Navaratnas '' , the nine members of the first Politburo . The leftist section , to which the 32 National Council members belonged , organised a convention in Tenali , Andhra Pradesh 7 to 11 July . It was here where the radical sections of party further showed their pro-Chinese stand . The Tenali convention was marked by the display of a large portrait of the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong . Later political career ( edit ) Basu was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1946 , contesting the Railway constituency . He served as the Leader of Opposition for a long time when Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy was the Chief Minister of West Bengal . Jyoti Basu led a number of agitations against the State Government and earned enviable popularity as a politician particularly among the students and youth . Beside organising the movements of the Railway Labourers , he led a movement by the teachers demanding a hike in salary . When the Communist Party of India split in 1964 , Basu became one of the first nine members of the Politburo of the newly formed Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) . In 1967 and 1969 , Basu became Deputy Chief Minister of West Bengal in the United Front governments . In 1967 , after the defeat of the Congress Government , Jyoti Basu was sworn - in as the Deputy Chief Minister under the Chief Ministership of Ajoy Mukherjee . In 1970 , he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at the Patna railway station . Though CPI ( M ) became the single largest party in the assembly elections in 1971 , the party was refused the chance to form a ministry and presidents ' Rule was imposed in West Bengal . Through the 1972 elections the Congress returned to power in West Bengal . Jyoti Basu lost the elections from the Baranagar Assembly Constituency . Basu famously declared the new assembly as `` assembly of the frauds '' and CPI ( M ) boycotted the assembly for the next five years . As the Chief Minister of West Bengal ( edit ) After the sweeping victory of the Left Front in 1977 , Jyoti Basu became the Chief Minister of the Left Front government , a position he held continuously for more than 23 years , a record in the country . Under his leadership , the Left Front government embarked on land reforms on a scale unprecedented in the country ; it instituted a panchayati raj system which was radical for its times , which gave the poor peasants and small farmers a say in running the panchayati institutions . As per leftists , West Bengal became an oasis of communal harmony and secular values under his leadership as there were always reports of communal clashes in West Bengal , while various measures were introduced to promote social and economic development in West Bengal , however these measures never fully gave results expected and West Bengal remains a poverty ridden state . Basic land reform was instituted , while irrigation and rural electrification were extended . In addition , India 's first comprehensive system of democratic decentralisation was established . Agricultural production came out of a slump that it had been in for decades before the Left Front came to power , and during the Eighties and Nineties the state showed the highest rates of agricultural growth among the 17 most populous Indian states . As a result of institutional changes and agricultural growth , levels of nutrition improved and rural poverty declined noticeably . One has to recall how as Chief Minister he dealt with the situation after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984 when violence against Sikhs broke out in various parts of the country , but nothing was allowed to happen in West Bengal . Similarly he dealt firmly with efforts to instigate trouble after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 . In 1996 Jyoti Basu seemed all set to be the consensus leader of the United Front for the post of Prime Minister of India . However , the CPI ( M ) Politburo decided not to participate in the government , a decision that Jyoti Basu later termed a historic blunder . H.D. Deve Gowda from the Janata Dal instead became prime minister . Basu resigned from the Chief Ministership of West Bengal in 2000 for health reasons , and was succeeded by fellow CPI ( M ) politician Buddhadeb Bhattacharya . As of 2014 , Basu holds the record for being the longest - serving Chief Minister in Indian political history . The 18th congress of CPI ( M ) , held in Delhi in 2005 , re-elected Basu to its Politburo , although he had asked to be allowed to retire from it . On 13 September 2006 , Basu entreated the CPI ( M ) to allow his retirement due to his age , but was turned down . General secretary Prakash Karat said that the party wanted Basu to continue until its 2008 congress , at which point it would reconsider . At the 19th congress in early April 2008 , Basu was not included on the Politburo , although he remained a member of the Central Committee and was designated as Special Invitee to the Politburo . In the course of seven decades of work in the Communist party , Basu spent three and a half years in prison and two years underground . After the fall of the Soviet Union and the setbacks to socialism , he provided the leadership along with his colleagues in the Politburo to make a reappraisal of the experience of building socialism and to pinpoint the errors and to correct wrong notions and understandings while remaining true to Marxism -- Leninism . He was a Marxist who was not dogmatic and continued to learn from his vast experience in charting out the course for the Party . He emerged as the pre-eminent and most popular leader of the Party , but he always worked as a disciplined member of the Party , setting an example for all . In his long career in the Party , he undertook various responsibilities including being the first editor of People 's Democracy . He had a lifelong association with the trade union movement and was the Vice-President of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions since its inception in 1970 . Some commentators feel Basu was more of a democratic socialist than a traditional Communist . `` He made Communism look respectable , '' according to Sabyasachi Basu Roy Choudhuri , a Calcutta - based political analyst . Criticism ( edit ) Sumon K Chakrabarti , the national affairs correspondent for CNN - IBN , said in his blog that during Basu 's tenure as the Chief Minister of West Bengal , the state saw continuous industrial decline . Basu has been criticised for the initial support of trade unions against the use of computers , which affected employment ; and the charge that his party members engaged in corruption and rigging of elections . Death , tribute and Legacy ( edit ) On 1 January 2010 , Basu was admitted to AMRI hospital ( Bidhannagar , Kolkata ) after he was diagnosed with pneumonia . On 16 January 2010 , his health condition became extremely critical and he was suffering from multiple organ failure . Seventeen days after being taken ill , he died on 17 January 2010 at 11 : 47 am IST . The death was followed by public mourning on an unprecedented scale . Draped in the party flag , Basu 's body was driven through the streets of Calcutta on a gun carriage . However , the time schedule went awry in his last moments as thousands of people thronged the streets of central Kolkata to pay their last respects . Police and volunteers wore a helpless look as a sea of people poured in from every possible corner of the city . President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the nation in mourning . Tributes poured in from politicians across the country . While Patil said `` the nation has lost a veteran and eminent public figure , '' Manmohan Singh said Basu was a politician to whom he often turned for `` sagacious advice '' . Basu was a leader `` who displayed his abilities as a leader of the people , an able administrator and eminent statesman '' , the president said in a statement . `` In the years after he relinquished the Chief Ministry , he continued to be looked upon as an elder statesman , whose advice was sought by many political leaders in the state , '' the president added . In a message to Jyoti Basu 's son Chandan , Manmohan Singh said : `` He was a powerful regional voice in the national political scene and helped to strengthen Indian federalism ... He was a man of great integrity with a deep commitment to secular values . '' He added : `` I have personally had a very long association with Basu . On many occasions in my career , I turned to him for his sagacious advice on all matters , whether they related to West Bengal or to issues of national importance '' . Vice President Hamid Ansari said Basu had left behind a void that would be difficult to fill . `` His sagacity and leadership at both the state and the national level have been a source of inspiration and guidance , '' Ansari said in a statement . The Communist Party of India - Marxist ( CPI - M ) that Basu led for several years expressed `` profound grief '' , saying he was a Marxist who was not dogmatic . `` Jyoti Basu was a Marxist who never wavered in his convictions . He was a Marxist who was not dogmatic and continued to learn from his vast experience in charting out the course for the party , '' the CPI - M politburo said . `` There will be none like Jyoti Basu again , '' was how CPI - M general secretary Prakash Karat saluted a man he had prevented from becoming the prime minister in 1996 . Karat , who influenced the CPI - M to block Basu from taking charge of the United Front government in 1996 , said that the former West Bengal chief minister `` was a great leader of the CPI - M , the Left movement and India . With his passing away , an era has passed '' . Communist Party of India ( CPI ) leader D. Raja paid glowing tributes to the Marxist patriarch , saying he could have proved to be a great prime minister . `` He ( Basu ) proved that the coalition of Left parties would work successfully and serve the people greatly . He could have proved to be a great prime minister also , '' Raja said . Former Lok Sabha speaker and Communist leader Somnath Chatterjee said he had lost someone like his father . `` When things started to go bad ( in Left front ) , he was sad . He was sad about what happened with me . I used to consult him on all matters . For the second time , I have lost somebody like my father , '' said an emotional Chatterjee . Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said he would miss a well - wisher . `` In his death , I have lost a great well - wisher , and the country has lost an able administrator , an outstanding parliamentarian and a charismatic political leader , '' Mukherjee told reporters . The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) , the staunchest anti-Communist force in the country , mourned the death of the Marxist leader , describing him as a `` role model for Indian politics '' . In a moving tribute , senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley told reporters here that Basu , who was West Bengal 's chief minister for 23 long years , was one of the `` tallest leaders '' in Indian politics with `` high credibility '' . `` He was devoted to his ideology and played the longest innings in Indian politics , '' Jaitley said . Former prime minister and senior BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee said Basu 's demise had `` ended a chapter in the country 's politics '' . Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters in Kolkata : `` He was a colossus who straddled India 's political scene for many decades . Not only the leader of West Bengal , but of India . He was a great patriot , great democrat , great parliamentarian and great source of inspiration . He served the people of India to the best . '' he said . Basu had pledged to donate his body and eyes for medical research on 4 April 2003 at a function organised by Ganadarpan and Susrut Eye Foundation in Kolkata and not to be burned at a crematorium . His eyes are donated to Susrut Eye Foundation . He is survived by his son Chandan , daughter - in - law Rakhi , grand daughters Payel , Doyel and Koyel , offsprings of his first daughter - in - law Dolly ( separated with son Chandan in 1998 ) , and grand son Subhojyoti , offspring of daughter - in - law Rakhi . His second wife Kamala Basu had died on 1 October 2003 . Basu 's body was kept at ' Peace Haven ' for those who wanted to pay their respects . His body was handed over to SSKM Hospital , Kolkata for research on 19 January 2010 around 16 : 50 pm IST after a guard of honour at the nearby Moharkunja park ( formerly , citizens ' park ) . The hospital authority is considering preserving his brain . The Trinamool Congress - run government has decided not to rename Rajarhat New Town after Jyoti Basu . The renaming proposal was a part of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority ( Amendment ) Bill , 2010 , passed in the assembly during the Left Front regime . A programme was even held at Rajarhat in October 2010 on the township 's renaming . See also ( edit ) List of Kolkata Presidencians References ( edit ) Jump up ^ Obituary : Jyoti Basu 17 January 2010 BBC News . ^ Jump up to : `` Jyoti Basu will continue on Central Committee '' . The Hindu . Kolkata : The Hindu . 4 April 2008 . Retrieved 6 January 2010 . ^ Jump up to : Chatterjee , Manini ( 3 April 2008 ) . `` Nine to none , founders ' era ends in CPM '' . The Telegraph . Calcutta : The Telegraph . Retrieved 6 January 2010 . ^ Jump up to : `` Jyoti Basu : Brief Life - Sketch '' . jyotibasu.net . Retrieved 5 February 2010 . Jump up ^ `` Life Sketch of Jyoti Basu '' . cpim.org . Jump up ^ Basu , Jyoti . Jatadur Mone Pare : Rajnaitik Atmakathan . Calcutta : National Book Agency . Jump up ^ Political biography : Jyoti Basu Jump up ^ Roy , Amit ( 18 January 2010 ) . `` London , the land that turned Basu into a Marxist '' . telegraphindia.com . Kolkata . Retrieved 7 June 2010 . Jump up ^ Bandopadhyay , Sekhar ( 2009 ) . Decolonization in South Asia : Meanings of Freedom in Post-independence West Bengal , 1947 - 52 . Routledge . Retrieved August 4 , 2017 . Jump up ^ Basu , Pradip . Towards Naxalbari ( 1953 -- 1967 ) -- An Account of Inner - Party Ideological Struggle . Calcutta : Progressive Publishers , 2000 . p. 51 . Jump up ^ `` Jyoti Basu : Marxist politician who combined realpolitik and revolutionary ideas '' . The Independent . London . 25 January 2010 . Jump up ^ `` Marxist who almost became India 's PM '' . The Economic Times . India . Indo - Asian News Service . 17 January 2010 . Archived from the original on 19 January 2010 . Jump up ^ Bhaumik , Subir ( 11 September 2006 ) . `` Left veteran just wants to retire '' . BBC News . Calcutta : BBC . Retrieved 6 January 2010 . Jump up ^ Subir Bhaumik ( 17 January 2010 ) . `` Obituary : Jyoti Basu '' . BBC . Jump up ^ Jyoti Basu : The Unkindest Cut 18 January 2010 IBN Politics Jump up ^ `` Basu : The tallest communist leader '' . NDTV. 17 January 2010 . Retrieved 20 January 2010 . Jump up ^ `` Jyoti Basu admitted to hospital '' . NDTV . Kolkata : NDTV. 1 January 2010 . Retrieved 6 January 2010 . Jump up ^ `` Jyoti Basu put on ventilator , condition serious '' . Hindustan Times . Kolkata : HT Media . Press Trust of India . 6 January 2010 . Retrieved 6 January 2010 . Jump up ^ `` CPM patriarch Jyoti Basu passes away '' . The Economic Times . Kolkata : The Economic Times . 17 January 2010 . Retrieved 17 January 2010 . Jump up ^ `` W Bengal bids tearful adieu to Jyoti Basu '' . The Pioneer . Kolkata . 20 January 2010 . Retrieved 15 August 2010 . ^ Jump up to : `` Nation mourns Jyoti Basu 's death '' . Hindustan Times . Kolkata . 17 January 2010 . Retrieved 15 August 2010 . Jump up ^ `` Basu to donate his body for research '' . indiatimes.com. 4 April 2003 . Jump up ^ `` CPM patriarch Jyoti - Basu passes away '' . The Times of India . 17 January 2010 . Jump up ^ `` Larger than life '' . The Daily Star . Dhaka. 20 January 2010 . Retrieved 7 June 2010 . Jump up ^ `` Doctors mull preserving Basu 's brain '' . sify.com. 19 January 2010 . Retrieved 7 June 2010 . External links ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jyoti Basu . Jyoti Basu website Menon , Ramdas ( 28 January 2010 ) . `` The Legacy of Jyoti Basu '' . Majumdar , Diptosh ( 18 January 2010 ) . `` Jyoti Basu , the last Bhadralok Communist '' . ibnlive.com . Retrieved 7 June 2010 . Preceded by Siddhartha Shankar Ray Chief Minister of West Bengal 1977 -- 2000 Succeeded by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Chief Ministers of West Bengal Prafulla Chandra Ghosh ( 1947 -- 48 ; 1967 -- 68 ) Bidhan Chandra Roy ( 1948 -- 1962 ) Prafulla Chandra Sen ( 1962 -- 67 ) Ajoy Mukherjee ( 1967 ; 1969 -- 70 ; 1971 ) Siddhartha Shankar Ray ( 1972 -- 77 ) Jyoti Basu ( 1977 -- 2000 ) Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee ( 2000 -- 2011 ) Mamata Banerjee ( 2011 -- ) Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) General secretaries P. Sundarayya ( 1964 -- 78 ) E.M.S. Namboodiripad ( 1978 -- 92 ) Harkishan Singh Surjeet ( 1992 -- 2005 ) Prakash Karat ( 2005 -- 15 ) Sitaram Yechury ( 2015 -- present ) Current Politburo members Sitaram Yechury Prakash Karat S. Ramachandran Pillai Manik Sarkar Biman Bose Pinarayi Vijayan B.V. Raghavulu Kodiyeri Balakrishnan M.A. Baby Surja Kanta Mishra Brinda Karat Mohammad Salim Subhashini Ali Hannan Mollah G. Ramakrishnan Chief Ministers E.M.S. Namboodiripad Jyoti Basu Nripen Chakraborty E.K. Nayanar Dasarath Deb Manik Sarkar Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee V.S. Achuthanandan Pinarayi Vijayan Related organisations All India Democratic Women 's Association ( AIDWA ) All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS ) Centre of Indian Trade Unions ( CITU ) Democratic Youth Federation of India ( DYFI ) Students Federation of India ( SFI ) Newspapers People 's Democracy The Marxist Deshabhimani Daily Desher Katha Ganashakti Lok Lahar Prajasakti Theekkathir VIAF : 178444951 LCCN : no99010503 ISNI : 0000 0000 7690 746X GND : 11926417X SUDOC : 059448792 BNF : cb146121372 ( data ) NKC : jn20000600654 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jyoti_Basu&oldid=807272529 '' Categories : Presidency University , Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni Bengali politicians Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) politicians from West Bengal Politicians from Kolkata 1914 births 2010 deaths Indian atheists Chief Ministers of West Bengal Deaths from multiple organ failure Indian communists Bengali communists Body donors Leaders of the Opposition in West Bengal Deputy chief ministers of West Bengal Chief ministers from Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) Hidden categories : Use Indian English from December 2014 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Use dmy dates from December 2014 NPOV disputes from May 2011 All NPOV disputes All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2010 Articles with unsourced statements from July 2011 Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014 All articles containing potentially dated statements Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Pages using authority control with parameters VIAF different on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Français हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം मराठी ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Suomi Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు اردو Edit links This page was last edited on 26 October 2017 , at 23 : 48 . 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Question: who is the longest serving chief minister in india as on jan 2015


Dust Bowl - Wikipedia Dust Bowl Jump to : navigation , search For other uses , see Dust Bowl ( disambiguation ) . Map of states and counties affected by the Dust Bowl between 1935 and 1938 originally prepared by the Soil Conservation Service . The most severely affected counties are colored . A farmer and his two sons during a dust storm in Cimarron County , Oklahoma , April 1936 . Iconic photo taken by Arthur Rothstein . The Dust Bowl , also known as the Dirty Thirties , was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s ; severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion ( the Aeolian processes ) caused the phenomenon . The drought came in three waves , 1934 , 1936 , and 1939 -- 1940 , but some regions of the high plains experienced drought conditions for as many as eight years . With insufficient understanding of the ecology of the plains , farmers had conducted extensive deep plowing of the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains during the previous decade ; this had displaced the native , deep - rooted grasses that normally trapped soil and moisture even during periods of drought and high winds . The rapid mechanization of farm equipment , especially small gasoline tractors , and widespread use of the combine harvester contributed to farmers ' decisions to convert arid grassland ( much of which received no more than 10 inches ( 250 mm ) of precipitation per year ) to cultivated cropland . During the drought of the 1930s , the unanchored soil turned to dust , which the prevailing winds blew away in huge clouds that sometimes blackened the sky . These choking billows of dust -- named `` black blizzards '' or `` black rollers '' -- traveled cross country , reaching as far as the East Coast and striking such cities as New York City and Washington , D.C. On the Plains , they often reduced visibility to 3 feet ( 1 m ) or less . Associated Press reporter Robert E. Geiger happened to be in Boise City , Oklahoma , to witness the `` Black Sunday '' black blizzards of April 14 , 1935 ; Edward Stanley , Kansas City news editor of the Associated Press coined the term `` Dust Bowl '' while rewriting Geiger 's news story . While the term `` the Dust Bowl '' was originally a reference to the geographical area affected by the dust , today it is usually used to refer to the event , as in `` It was during the Dust Bowl '' . The drought and erosion of the Dust Bowl affected 100,000,000 acres ( 400,000 km ) that centered on the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and touched adjacent sections of New Mexico , Colorado , and Kansas . The Dust Bowl forced tens of thousands of poverty - stricken families to abandon their farms , unable to pay mortgages or grow crops , and losses reached US $ 25 million per day by 1936 ( equivalent to US $440,000,000 in 2017 ) . Many of these families , who were often known as `` Okies '' because so many of them came from Oklahoma , migrated to California and other states to find that the Great Depression had rendered economic conditions there little better than those they had left . The Dust Bowl has been the subject of many cultural works , notably the novel The Grapes of Wrath ( 1939 ) by John Steinbeck , the folk music of Woody Guthrie , and photographs depicting the conditions of migrants by Dorothea Lange . Contents ( hide ) 1 Geographic characteristics and early history 2 Drought and dust storms 3 Human displacement 3.1 United States 3.2 Characteristics of migrants 4 U.S. government response 5 Long - term economic impact 6 Influence on the arts and culture 7 Aggregate changes in agriculture and population on the Plains 8 See also 8.1 Notable documentaries 8.2 International 8.3 General 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External links Geographic characteristics and early History A dust storm approaches Stratford , Texas , in 1935 . The Dust Bowl area lies principally west of the 100th meridian on the High Plains , characterized by plains which vary from rolling in the north to flat in the Llano Estacado . Elevation ranges from 2,500 feet ( 760 m ) in the east to 6,000 feet ( 1,800 m ) at the base of the Rocky Mountains . The area is semiarid , receiving less than 20 inches ( 510 mm ) of rain annually ; this rainfall supports the shortgrass prairie biome originally present in the area . The region is also prone to extended drought , alternating with unusual wetness of equivalent duration . During wet years , the rich soil provides bountiful agricultural output , but crops fail during dry years . The region is also subject to high winds . During early European and American exploration of the Great Plains , this region was thought unsuitable for European - style agriculture ; explorers called it the Great American Desert . The lack of surface water and timber made the region less attractive than other areas for pioneer settlement and agriculture . The federal government encouraged settlement and development of the Plains for agriculture via the Homestead Act of 1862 , offering settlers 160 - acre ( 65 ha ) plots . With the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 , waves of new migrants and immigrants reached the Great Plains , and they greatly increased the acreage under cultivation . An unusually wet period in the Great Plains mistakenly led settlers and the federal government to believe that `` rain follows the plow '' ( a popular phrase among real estate promoters ) and that the climate of the region had changed permanently . While initial agricultural endeavors were primarily cattle ranching , the adverse effect of harsh winters on the cattle , beginning in 1886 , a short drought in 1890 , and general overgrazing , led many landowners to increase the amount of land under cultivation . Recognizing the challenge of cultivating marginal arid land , the United States government expanded on the 160 acres ( 65 ha ) offered under the Homestead Act -- granting 640 acres ( 260 ha ) to homesteaders in western Nebraska under the Kinkaid Act ( 1904 ) and 320 acres ( 130 ha ) elsewhere in the Great Plains under the Enlarged Homestead Act ( 1909 ) . Waves of European settlers arrived in the plains at the beginning of the 20th century . A return of unusually wet weather seemingly confirmed a previously held opinion that the `` formerly '' semiarid area could support large - scale agriculture . At the same time , technological improvements such as mechanized plowing and mechanized harvesting made it possible to operate larger properties without increasing labor costs . The combined effects of the disruption of the Russian Revolution , which decreased the supply of wheat and other commodity crops , and World War I increased agricultural prices ; this demand encouraged farmers to dramatically increase cultivation . For example , in the Llano Estacado of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas , the area of farmland was doubled between 1900 and 1920 , then tripled again between 1925 and 1930 . The agricultural methods favored by farmers during this period created the conditions for large - scale erosion under certain environmental conditions . The widespread conversion of the land by deep plowing and other soil preparation methods to enable agriculture eliminated the native grasses which held the soil in place and helped retain moisture during dry periods . Furthermore , cotton farmers left fields bare during winter months , when winds in the High Plains are highest , and burned the stubble as a means to control weeds prior to planting , thereby depriving the soil of organic nutrients and surface vegetation . Drought and Dust storms A dust storm ; Spearman , Texas , April 14 , 1935 `` Heavy black clouds of dust rising over the Texas Panhandle , Texas '' , c. 1936 . After fairly favourable climatic conditions in the 1920s with good rainfall and relatively moderate winters , which permitted increased settlement and cultivation in the Great Plains , the region entered an unusually dry era in the summer of 1930 . During the next decade , the northern plains suffered four of their seven driest calendar years since 1895 , Kansas four of its twelve driest , and the entire region south to West Texas lacked any period of above - normal rainfall until record rains hit in 1941 . When severe drought struck the Great Plains region in the 1930s , it resulted in erosion and loss of topsoil because of farming practices at the time . The drought dried the topsoil and over time it became friable , reduced to a powdery consistency in some places . Without the indigenous grasses in place , the high winds that occur on the plains picked up the topsoil and created the massive dust storms that marked the Dust Bowl period . The persistent dry weather caused crops to fail , leaving the plowed fields exposed to wind erosion . The fine soil of the Great Plains was easily eroded and carried east by strong continental winds . On November 11 , 1933 , a very strong dust storm stripped topsoil from desiccated South Dakota farmlands in just one of a series of severe dust storms that year . Beginning on May 9 , 1934 , a strong , two - day dust storm removed massive amounts of Great Plains topsoil in one of the worst such storms of the Dust Bowl . The dust clouds blew all the way to Chicago , where they deposited 12 million pounds of dust ( ~ 5500 tonnes ) . Two days later , the same storm reached cities to the east , such as Cleveland , Buffalo , Boston , New York City , and Washington , D.C. That winter ( 1934 -- 1935 ) , red snow fell on New England . On April 14 , 1935 , known as `` Black Sunday '' , 20 of the worst `` black blizzards '' occurred across the entire sweep of the Great Plains , from Canada south to Texas . The dust storms caused extensive damage and turned the day to night ; witnesses reported that they could not see five feet in front of them at certain points . Denver - based Associated Press reporter Robert E. Geiger happened to be in Boise City , Oklahoma that day . His story about Black Sunday marked the first appearance of the term Dust Bowl ; it was coined by Edward Stanley , Kansas City news editor of the Associated Press , while rewriting Geiger 's news story . Spearman and Hansford County have been literaly ( sic ) in a cloud of dust for the past week . Ever since Friday of last week , there has n't been a day pass but what the county was beseieged ( sic ) with a blast of wind and dirt . On rare occasions when the wind did subside for a period of hours , the air has been so filled with dust that the town appeared to be overhung by a fog cloud . Because of this long seige of dust and every building being filled with it , the air has become stifling to breathe and many people have developed sore throats and dust colds as a result . '' -- Spearman Reporter , 21 March 1935 Much of the farmland was eroded in the aftermath of the Dust Bowl . In 1941 , a Kansas agricultural experiment station released a bulletin that suggested reestablishing native grasses by the `` hay method '' . Developed in 1937 to speed up the process and increase returns from pasture , the `` hay method '' was originally supposed to occur in Kansas naturally over 25 -- 40 years . After much data analysis , the causal mechanism for the droughts can be linked to ocean temperature anomalies . Specifically , Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperatures appear to have had an indirect effect on the general atmospheric circulation , while Pacific sea surface temperatures seem to have had the most direct influence . Human displacement This catastrophe intensified the economic impact of the Great Depression in the region . United States Buried machinery in a barn lot ; Dallas , South Dakota , May 1936 In 1935 , many families were forced to leave their farms and travel to other areas seeking work because of the drought ( which at that time had already lasted four years ) . The abandonment of homesteads and financial ruin resulting from catastrophic topsoil loss led to widespread hunger and poverty . Dust Bowl conditions fomented an exodus of the displaced from Texas , Oklahoma , and the surrounding Great Plains to adjacent regions . More than 500,000 Americans were left homeless . Over 350 houses had to be torn down after one storm alone . The severe drought and dust storms had left many homeless ; others had their mortgages foreclosed by banks , or felt they had no choice but to abandon their farms in search of work . Many Americans migrated west looking for work . Parents packed up `` jalopies '' with their families and a few personal belongings , and headed west in search of work . Some residents of the Plains , especially in Kansas and Oklahoma , fell ill and died of dust pneumonia or malnutrition . `` Broke , baby sick , and car trouble ! '' - Dorothea Lange 's 1937 photo of a Missouri migrant family 's jalopy stuck near Tracy , California . The Dust Bowl exodus was the largest migration in American history within a short period of time . Between 1930 and 1940 , approximately 3.5 million people moved out of the Plains states ; of those , it is unknown how many moved to California . In just over a year , over 86,000 people migrated to California . This number is more than the number of migrants to that area during the 1849 Gold Rush . Migrants abandoned farms in Oklahoma , Arkansas , Missouri , Iowa , Nebraska , Kansas , Texas , Colorado , and New Mexico , but were often generally referred to as `` Okies '' , `` Arkies '' , or `` Texies '' . Terms such as `` Okies '' and `` Arkies '' came to be known in the 1930s as the standard terms for those who had lost everything and were struggling the most during the Great Depression . Not all migrants traveled long distances ; some simply went to the next town or county . So many families left their farms and were on the move that the proportion between migrants and residents was nearly equal in the Great Plains states . Characteristics of migrants A migratory family from Texas living in a trailer in an Arizona cotton field Historian James N. Gregory examined Census Bureau statistics and other records to learn more about the migrants . Based on a 1939 survey of occupation by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics of about 116,000 families who arrived in California in the 1930s , he learned that only 43 percent of southwesterners were doing farm work immediately before they migrated . Nearly one - third of all migrants were professional or white - collar workers . The poor economy displaced more than just farmers as refugees to California ; many teachers , lawyers , and small business owners moved west with their families during this time . After the Great Depression ended , some moved back to their original states . Many others remained where they had resettled . About one - eighth of California 's population is of Okie heritage . Us government response The greatly expanded participation of government in land management and soil conservation was an important outcome from the disaster . Different groups took many different approaches to responding to the disaster . To identify areas that needed attention , groups such as the Soil Conservation Service generated detailed soil maps and took photos of the land from the sky . To create shelterbelts to reduce soil erosion , groups such as the United States Forestry Service 's Prairie States Forestry Project planted trees on private lands . Finally , groups like the Resettlement Administration , which later became the Farm Security Administration , encouraged small farm owners to resettle on other lands , if they lived in dryer parts of the Plains . During President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's first 100 days in office in 1933 , his administration quickly initiated programs to conserve soil and restore the ecological balance of the nation . Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes established the Soil Erosion Service in August 1933 under Hugh Hammond Bennett . In 1935 , it was transferred and reorganized under the Department of Agriculture and renamed the Soil Conservation Service . It is now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service ( NRCS ) . As part of New Deal programs , Congress passed the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act in 1936 , requiring landowners to share the allocated government subsidies with the laborers who worked on their farms . Under the law , `` benefit payments were continued as measures for production control and income support , but they were now financed by direct Congressional appropriations and justified as soil conservation measures . The Act shifted the parity goal from price equality of agricultural commodities and the articles that farmers buy to income equality of farm and non-farm population . '' Thus , the parity goal was to re-create the ratio between the purchasing power of the net income per person on farms from agriculture and that of the income of persons not on farms that prevailed during 1909 -- 1914 . To stabilize prices , the government paid farmers and ordered more than six million pigs to be slaughtered . It paid to have the meat packed and distributed to the poor and hungry . The Federal Surplus Relief Corporation ( FSRC ) was established to regulate crop and other surpluses . FDR in an address on the AAA commented , Let me make one other point clear for the benefit of the millions in cities who have to buy meats . Last year the Nation suffered a drought of unparalleled intensity . If there had been no Government program , if the old order had obtained in 1933 and 1934 , that drought on the cattle ranges of America and in the corn belt would have resulted in the marketing of thin cattle , immature hogs and the death of these animals on the range and on the farm , and if the old order had been in effect those years , we would have had a vastly greater shortage than we face today . Our program -- we can prove it -- saved the lives of millions of head of livestock . They are still on the range , and other millions of heads are today canned and ready for this country to eat . '' The FSRC diverted agricultural commodities to relief organizations . Apples , beans , canned beef , flour and pork products were distributed through local relief channels . Cotton goods were later included , to clothe the needy . In 1935 , the federal government formed a Drought Relief Service ( DRS ) to coordinate relief activities . The DRS bought cattle in counties which were designated emergency areas , for $14 to $20 a head . Animals determined unfit for human consumption were killed ; at the beginning of the program , more than 50 percent were so designated in emergency areas . The DRS assigned the remaining cattle to the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation ( FSRC ) to be used in food distribution to families nationwide . Although it was difficult for farmers to give up their herds , the cattle slaughter program helped many of them avoid bankruptcy . `` The government cattle buying program was a blessing to many farmers , as they could not afford to keep their cattle , and the government paid a better price than they could obtain in local markets . '' President Roosevelt ordered the Civilian Conservation Corps to plant a huge belt of more than 200 million trees from Canada to Abilene , Texas to break the wind , hold water in the soil , and hold the soil itself in place . The administration also began to educate farmers on soil conservation and anti-erosion techniques , including crop rotation , strip farming , contour plowing , terracing , and other improved farming practices . In 1937 , the federal government began an aggressive campaign to encourage farmers in the Dust Bowl to adopt planting and plowing methods that conserved the soil . The government paid reluctant farmers a dollar an acre to practice the new methods . By 1938 , the massive conservation effort had reduced the amount of blowing soil by 65 % . The land still failed to yield a decent living . In the fall of 1939 , after nearly a decade of dirt and dust , the drought ended when regular rainfall finally returned to the region . The government still encouraged continuing the use of conservation methods to protect the soil and ecology of the Plains . At the end of the drought , the programs which were implemented during these tough times helped to sustain a positive relationship between America 's farmers and the federal government . The President 's Drought Committee issued a report in 1935 covering the government 's assistance to agriculture during 1934 through mid-1935 : it discussed conditions , measures of relief , organization , finances , operations , and results of the government 's assistance . Numerous exhibits are included in this report . Long - term economic Impact In many regions , more than 75 % of the topsoil was blown away by the end of the 1930s . Land degradation varied widely . Aside from the short - term economic consequences caused by erosion , there were severe long - term economic consequences caused by the Dust Bowl . By 1940 , counties that had experienced the most significant levels of erosion had a greater decline in agricultural land values . The per - acre value of farmland declined by 28 % in high - erosion counties and 17 % in medium - erosion counties , relative to land value changes in low - erosion counties . Even over the long - term , the agricultural value of the land often failed to recover to pre-Dust Bowl levels . In highly eroded areas , less than 25 % of the original agricultural losses were recovered . The economy adjusted predominantly through large relative population declines in more - eroded counties , both during the 1930s and through the 1950s . The economic effects persisted , in part , because of farmers ' failure to switch to more appropriate crops for highly eroded areas . Because the amount of topsoil had been reduced , it would have been more productive to shift from crops and wheat to animals and hay . During the Depression and through at least the 1950s , there was limited relative adjustment of farmland away from activities that became less productive in more - eroded counties . Some of the failure to shift to more productive agricultural products may be related to ignorance about the benefits of changing land use . A second explanation is a lack of availability of credit , caused by the high rate of failure of banks in the Plains states . Because banks failed in the Dust Bowl region at a higher rate than elsewhere , farmers could not get the credit they needed to buy capital to shift crop production . In addition , profit margins in either animals or hay were still minimal , and farmers had little incentive in the beginning to change their crops . Patrick Allitt recounts how fellow historian Donald Worster responded to his return visit to the Dust Bowl in the mid-1970s when he revisited some of the worst afflicted counties : Capital - intensive agribusiness had transformed the scene ; deep wells into the aquifer , intensive irrigation , the use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers , and giant harvesters were creating immense crops year after year whether it rained or not . According to the farmers he interviewed , technology had provided the perfect answer to old troubles , such of the bad days would not return . In Worster 's view , by contrast , the scene demonstrated that America 's capitalist high - tech farmers had learned nothing . They were continuing to work in an unsustainable way , devoting far cheaper subsidized energy to growing food than the energy could give back to its ultimate consumers . In contrast with Worster 's pessimism , historian Mathew Bonnifield argued that the long - term significance of the Dust Bowl was `` the triumph of the human spirit in its capacity to endure and overcome hardships and reverses . '' Influence on the arts and culture Florence Owens Thompson seen in the photo Destitute Pea Pickers in California . Mother of Seven Children . by Dorothea Lange The crisis was documented by photographers , musicians , and authors , many hired during the Great Depression by the federal government . For instance , the Farm Security Administration hired numerous photographers to document the crisis . Artists such as Dorothea Lange were aided by having salaried work during the Depression . She captured what have become classic images of the dust storms and migrant families . Among her most well - known photographs is Destitute Pea Pickers in California . Mother of Seven Children , which depicted a gaunt - looking woman , Florence Owens Thompson , holding three of her children . This picture expressed the struggles of people caught by the Dust Bowl and raised awareness in other parts of the country of its reach and human cost . Decades later , Thompson disliked the boundless circulation of the photo and resented the fact she did not receive any money from its broadcast . Thompson felt it gave her the perception as a Dust Bowl `` Okie . '' The work of independent artists was also influenced by the crises of the Dust Bowl and the Depression . Author John Steinbeck , borrowing closely from field notes taken by Farm Security Administration worker and author Sanora Babb , wrote The Grapes of Wrath ( 1939 ) about migrant workers and farm families displaced by the Dust Bowl . Babb 's own novel about the lives of the migrant workers , Whose Names Are Unknown , was written in 1939 but was eclipsed and shelved in response to the success of the Steinbeck 's work , and was finally published in 2004 . Many of the songs of folk singer Woody Guthrie , such as those on his 1940 album Dust Bowl Ballads , are about his experiences in the Dust Bowl era during the Great Depression when he traveled with displaced farmers from Oklahoma to California and learned their traditional folk and blues songs , earning him the nickname the `` Dust Bowl Troubadour '' . Migrants also influenced musical culture wherever they went . Oklahoma migrants , in particular , were rural Southwesterners who carried their traditional country music to California . Today , the `` Bakersfield Sound '' describes this blend , which developed after the migrants brought country music to the city . Their new music inspired a proliferation of country dance halls as far south as Los Angeles . The 2014 science fiction film Interstellar features a ravaged 21st - century America which is again scoured by dust storms ( caused by a worldwide pathogen affecting all crops ) . Along with inspiration from the 1930s crisis , director Christopher Nolan features interviews from the 2012 documentary The Dust Bowl to draw further parallels . In 2017 , Americana recording artist Grant Maloy Smith released the album Dust Bowl -- American Stories , which was inspired by the history of the Dust Bowl . In a review , the music magazine No Depression wrote that the album 's lyrics and music are `` as potent as Woody Guthrie , as intense as John Trudell and dusted with the trials and tribulations of Tom Joad -- Steinbeck and The Grapes of Wrath . '' Aggregate changes in agriculture and population on the Plains The change in the total value of agricultural land and revenue was quite similar over the twentieth century . Agricultural land and revenue boomed during World War I , but fell during the Great Depression and the 1930s . The land and revenue began increasing again in 1940 , and has been increasing since then . From 1910 to the 1940s , total farmland increased and remained constant until 1970 when it slightly declined . During this time , total population increased steadily , but there was a slight dip in trend from 1930 to 1960 . See also U.S. Route 66 -- notable Dust Bowl migration route to California 1936 North American heat wave Great Plains Shelterbelt Ogallala Aquifer Notable documentaries The Dust Bowl -- 2012 documentary by Ken Burns The Plow That Broke the Plains -- 1936 documentary International Palliser 's Triangle -- semiarid area of Canada Goyder 's Line -- semiarid area of Australia General Desertification Monoculture Semi-arid climate Global warming References ^ Jump up to : `` Drought : A Paleo Perspective -- 20th Century Drought '' . National Climatic Data Center . Retrieved April 5 , 2009 . Jump up ^ `` The American Experience : Drought '' . PBS . Retrieved March 15 , 2015 . ^ Jump up to : `` The Black Sunday Dust Storm of 14 April 1935 '' . National Weather Service : Norman , Oklahoma . August 24 , 2010 . Retrieved November 23 , 2012 . ^ Jump up to : Mencken , H.L. ( 1979 ) . Raven I. McDavid , Jr. , ed . The American Language ( One - Volume Abridged ed . ) . New York : Alfred A Knopf . p. 206 . ISBN 0 - 394 - 40075 - 5 . Jump up ^ Hakim , Joy ( 1995 ) . A History of Us : War , Peace and all that Jazz . New York : Oxford University Press . ISBN 0 - 19 - 509514 - 6 . Jump up ^ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project . `` Consumer Price Index ( estimate ) 1800 -- '' . Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis . Retrieved January 2 , 2018 . Jump up ^ Bust : America - The Story of Us . A&E Television Networks . 2010 . OCLC 783245601 . Jump up ^ `` A History of Drought in Colorado : lessons learned and what lies ahead '' ( PDF ) . Colorado Water Resources Research Institute . February 2000 . Retrieved December 6 , 2007 . Jump up ^ `` A Report of the Great Plains Area Drought Committee '' . Hopkins Papers , Franklin D. Roosevelt Library . August 27 , 1936 . Retrieved December 6 , 2007 . Jump up ^ `` The Great Plains : from dust to dust '' . Planning Magazine . December 1987 . Archived from the original on October 6 , 2007 . Retrieved December 6 , 2007 . ^ Jump up to : Regions at Risk : a comparison of threatened environments . United Nations University Press . 1995 . Retrieved December 6 , 2007 . Jump up ^ Drought in the Dust Bowl Years . US : National Drought Mitigation Center . 2006 . Retrieved December 6 , 2007 . Jump up ^ `` Northern Rockies and Plains Average Temperature -- October to March '' . National Climatic Data Center . Retrieved September 17 , 2014 . Jump up ^ `` Northern Rockies and Plains Precipitation , 1895 -- 2013 '' . National Climatic Data Center . Retrieved September 17 , 2014 . Jump up ^ `` Kansas Precipitation 1895 to 2013 '' . National Climatic Data Center . Retrieved September 17 , 2014 . Jump up ^ `` Texas Climate Division 1 ( High Plains ) : Precipitation 1895 -- 2013 '' . National Climatic Data Center . Retrieved September 17 , 2014 . Jump up ^ `` THE WEATHER OF 1941 IN THE UNITED STATES '' ( PDF ) . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved September 17 , 2014 . Jump up ^ Cronin , Francis D ; Beers , Howard W ( January 1937 ) . `` Areas of Intense Drought Distress , 1930 -- 1936 '' ( PDF ) . Research Bulletin . U.S. Works Progress Administration / Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research ( FRASER ) . pp. 1 -- 23 . Retrieved October 15 , 2014 . Jump up ^ Murphy , Philip G. ( July 15 , 1935 ) . `` The Drought of 1934 '' ( PDF ) . A Report of The Federal Government 's Assistance to Agriculture . U.S. Drought Coordinating Committee / Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research ( FRASER ) . Retrieved October 15 , 2014 . ^ Jump up to : `` Surviving the Dust Bowl '' . 1998 . Retrieved September 19 , 2011 . Jump up ^ Stock , Catherine McNicol ( 1992 ) . Main Street in Crisis : The Great Depression and the Old Middle Class on the Northern Plains , p. 24 . University of North Carolina Press . ISBN 0 - 8078 - 4689 - 9 . Jump up ^ Miller , Bill ( March 21 , 1935 ) . `` Nearly week seige of dust storm in county '' . Spearman Reporter . Spearman , Texas . Retrieved March 24 , 2017 . ^ Jump up to : Hornbeck , Richard ( December 2009 ) . `` The Enduring Impact of the American Dust Bowl : Short and Long - run Adjustments to Environmental Catastrophe '' ( PDF ) . US : National Bureau of Economic Research . Retrieved March 6 , 2016 . ^ Jump up to : McLeman , Robert A ; Dupre , Juliette ; Berrang Ford , Lea ; Ford , James ; Gajewski , Konrad ; Marchildon , Gregory ( June 2014 ) . `` What we learned from the Dust Bowl : lessons in science , policy , and adaptation '' . Population and Environment. 35 ( 4 ) : 417 -- 440 . doi : 10.1007 / s11111 - 013 - 0190 - z . Jump up ^ A Cultural History of the United States -- The 1930s . San Diego , California : Lucent Books , Inc. , 1999 , p. 39 . Jump up ^ Schama , Simon ; Hobkinson , Sam ( 2008 ) . American Plenty . BBC . OCLC 884893188 . ^ Jump up to : `` First Measured Century : Interview : James Gregory '' . PBS . Retrieved March 11 , 2007 . Jump up ^ Babb , Sanora , Dorothy Babb , and Douglas Wixson . On the Dirty Plate Trail . Edited by Douglas Wixson . Autin , Texas : University of Texas Press , 2007 , p. 20 . Jump up ^ A Cultural History ( 1999 ) , p. 19 ^ Jump up to : Worster , Donald ( 1979 ) . Dust Bowl : The Southern Plains in the 1930s . Oxford University Press . p. 49 . Jump up ^ Worster , Donald . Dust Bowl -- The Southern Plains in the 1930s , New York : Oxford University Press , 2004 , p. 50 Jump up ^ Worster ( 2004 ) , Dust Bowl , p. 45 , Jump up ^ Gregory , N. James . ( 1991 ) American Exodus : The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California . Oxford University Press . Jump up ^ Babb , et al. ( 2007 ) , On the Dirty Plate Trail , p. 13 Jump up ^ Steiner , Frederick ( 2008 ) . The Living Landscape , Second Edition : An Ecological Approach to Landscape Planning , p. 188 . Island Press . ISBN 1 - 59726 - 396 - 6 . Jump up ^ Rau , Allan . Agricultural Policy and Trade Liberalization in the United States , 1934 -- 1956 ; a Study of Conflicting Policies . Genève : E. Droz , 1957 . p. 81 . Jump up ^ `` The American Experience / Surviving the Dust Bowl / Timeline '' . Jump up ^ Monthly Catalog , United States Public Documents , By United States Superintendent of Documents , United States Government Printing Office , Published by the G.P.O. , 1938 Jump up ^ Federal Writers ' Project . Texas . Writers ' Program ( Tex . ) : Writers ' Program Texas . p. 16 . Jump up ^ Buchanan , James Shannon . Chronicles of Oklahoma . Oklahoma Historical Society . p. 224 . Jump up ^ PBS Timeline of Dust Bowl Jump up ^ A Cultural History ( 1999 ) , p. 45 . Jump up ^ United States . Agricultural Adjustment Administration and Murphy , Philip G. , ( 1935 ) , Drought of 1934 : The Federal Government 's Assistance to Agriculture `` . Accessed October 15 , 2014 . ^ Jump up to : Hornbeck , Richard ( June 2012 ) . `` The Enduring Impact of the American Dust Bowl : Short - and Long - Run Adjustments to Environmental Catastrophe '' ( PDF ) . American Economic Review . 102 ( 4 ) . pp. 1477 -- 1507 . doi : 10.1257 / aer. 102.4. 1477 . Retrieved March 31 , 2016 -- via Harvard University , Department of Economics . Jump up ^ Landon - Lane , John ; Rockoff , Hugh ; Steckel , Richard ( 2009 ) . `` Droughts , Floods , and Financial Distress in the United States '' ( PDF ) . National Bureau of Economic Research . p. 6 . Retrieved March 1 , 2011 . Jump up ^ Patrick Allitt , A Climate of Crisis : America in the Age of Environmentalism ( 2014 ) p 203 Jump up ^ Allitt p 211 , paraphrasing William Cronin 's evaluation of Mathew Paul Bonnifield , Dust Bowl : Men , Dirt and Depression ( 1979 ) ^ Jump up to : `` Destitute Pea Pickers in California : Mother of Seven Children , Age Thirty - two , Nipomo , California . Migrant Mother '' . World Digital Library . Retrieved February 10 , 2013 . Jump up ^ DuBois , Ellen Carol ; Dumenil , Lynn ( 2012 ) . Through Women 's Eyes ( Third ed . ) . Bedford / St. Martin 's . p. 583 . ISBN 978 - 0 - 312 - 67603 - 2 . Jump up ^ `` Whose Names Are Unknown : Sanora Babb '' . Harry Ransom Center . Retrieved December 22 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Dayton Duncan , preface by Ken Burns ( 2012 ) . `` Biographies : Sanora Babb '' . The Dust Bowl : An Illustrated History . PBS . Retrieved February 13 , 2016 . Jump up ^ See : Lanzendorfer , Joy , `` The forgotten Dust Bowl novel that rivaled `` The Grapes of Wrath '' , '' Smithsonian.com , 2016 May 23 . `` Sanora Babb , '' The Dust Bowl : a film by Ken Burns , PBS.org ( 2012 ) For the role of Tom Collins of the Farm Security Administration in Steinbeck 's novel , see : John Steinbeck with Robert Demott , ed. , Working Days : The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath , 1938 -- 1941 ( New York , New York : Penguin Books , 1990 ) , pp. xxvii -- xxviii , 33 ( journal entry for 1938 June 24 ) . Jump up ^ Alarik , Scott . Robert Burns unplugged . The Boston Globe , August 7 , 2005 . Retrieved on December 5 , 2007 . Jump up ^ Rosenberg , Alyssa ( November 6 , 2014 ) . `` How Ken Burns ' surprise role in ' Interstellar ' explains the movie '' . The Washington Post . Retrieved November 8 , 2014 . Jump up ^ Smith , Hubble ( June 1 , 2017 ) . `` Kingman gets a mention on Dust Bowl album '' . Kingman Daily Miner . Retrieved June 11 , 2017 . Jump up ^ Apice , John ( May 22 , 2017 ) . `` Expressive Original Songs Steeped In the Dirt & Reality of the Dust Bowl - Depression Era '' . No Depression . Retrieved June 11 , 2017 . Bibliography Bonnifield , Mathew Paul . ( 1979 ) Dust Bowl : Men , Dirt and Depression Gregory , James Noble . American exodus : The dust bowl migration and Okie culture in California ( Oxford University Press , 1989 ) Lassieur , Allison. ( 2009 ) The Dust Bowl : An Interactive History Adventure Capstone Press , ISBN 1 - 4296 - 3455 - 3 Reis , Ronald A. ( 2008 ) The Dust Bowl Chelsea House ISBN 978 - 0 - 7910 - 9737 - 3 Sylvester , Kenneth M. , and Eric S.A. Rupley , `` Revising the Dust Bowl : High above the Kansas Grassland '' , Environmental History , 17 ( July 2012 ) , 603 -- 33 . Worster , Donald 2004 ( 1979 ) Dust Bowl : The Southern Plains in the 1930s ( 25 . anniversary ed ) Oxford University Press . ISBN 0 - 19 - 517489 - 5 Woody Guthrie , ( 1963 ) The ( Nearly ) Complete Collection of Woody Guthrie Folk Songs , Ludlow Music , New York . Alan Lomax , Woody Guthrie , Pete Seeger , ( 1967 ) Hard - Hitting Songs for Hard - Hit People , Oak Publications , New York . Timothy Egan ( 2006 ) The Worst Hard Time , Houghton Mifflin Company , New York , hardcover . ISBN 0 - 618 - 34697 - X . Katelan Janke , ( 1935 ) Survival in the Storm : The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards , Dalhart , Texas , Scholastic ( September 2002 ) . ISBN 0 - 439 - 21599 - 4 . Karen Hesse ( paperback January 1999 ) Out of the Dust , Scholastic Signature . New York First Edition , 1997 , hardcover . ISBN 0 - 590 - 37125 - 8 . Sanora Babb ( 2004 ) Whose Names Are Unknown , University of Oklahoma Press , ISBN 978 - 0 - 8061 - 3579 - 3 . Sweeney , Kevin Z. ( 2016 ) . Prelude to the Dust Bowl : Drought in the Nineteenth - Century Southern Plains Norman , OK : University of Oklahoma Press . External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dust Bowl . NASA Explains `` Dust Bowl '' Drought The Dust Bowl photo collection `` The Dust Bowl '' , a PBS television series by filmmaker Ken Burns The Dust Bowl ( EH.Net Encyclopedia ) Black Sunday , April 14 , 1935 , Dodge City , KS The Bibliography of Aeolian Research Surviving the Dust Bowl , Black Sunday ( April 14 , 1935 ) Voices from the Dust Bowl : The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection , 1940 -- 1941 Library of Congress , American Folklife Center Online collection of archival sound recordings , photographs , and manuscripts YouTube Video : `` The Great Depression , Displaced Mountaineers in Shenandoah National Park , and the Civilian Conservation Corps ( C.C.C. ) '' Farming in the 1930s ( Wessels Living History Farm ) Out of the Dust ( The Modesto Bee ) Africa Data Dissemination Service , part of the Famine Early Warning Systems Network , U.S. Geological Service Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture -- Dust Bowl Oklahoma Digital Maps : Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory Dust Bowl Migration Archive at Sonoma State University Library Dust , Drought , and Dreams Gone Dry : Oklahoma Women in the Dust Bowl Oral History Project , Oklahoma Oral History Research Program Voices of Oklahoma interview with Frosty Troy . First person interview conducted on November 30 , 2011 with Frosty Troy talking about the Oklahoma Dust Bowl . Original audio and transcript archived with Voices of Oklahoma oral history project . Great Depression Topics Causes Wall Street Crash of 1929 Smoot - Hawley Tariff Act Dust Bowl New Deal Recession of 1937 -- 1938 Effects by area Australia Canada Chile Central Europe France Germany India Japan Latin America Netherlands South Africa United Kingdom United States Cities Commons History of Oklahoma Prior to 19th century Cooper Bison Kill ( 11th millennium BCE ) Spiro Mounds ( 9th -- 15th century CE ) 19th century Louisiana Purchase Arkansas Territory ( 1819 − 1824 ) Comanche -- Mexico Wars ( 1821 -- 1870s ) Cutthroat Gap Massacre ( 1833 ) Indian Removal Indian Territory ( 1834 -- 1907 ) Antelope Hills Expedition ( 1858 ) Civil War ( 1861 -- 1865 ) Washita Massacre ( 1868 ) Oklahoma Territory ( 1890 -- 1907 ) Land runs ( 1890s ) 20th century State of Sequoyah ( 1905 ) State of Oklahoma ( 1907 ) Crazy Snake Rebellion ( 1909 ) Green Corn Rebellion ( 1917 ) Osage Indian murders ( 1920s ) Tulsa race riot ( 1921 ) Dust Bowl ( 1930s ) Red River Bridge War ( 1931 ) Oklahoma City bombing ( 1995 ) 21st century OU Bombing ( 2005 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dust_Bowl&oldid=838466625 '' Categories : Dust Bowl Great Plains Great Depression in the United States 1930s in the United States 1930 in the United States Internal migrations in the United States History of agriculture in the United States History of the American West Environmental disasters in the United States History of the United States ( 1918 -- 45 ) Soil in the United States Droughts in the United States Agriculture in the United States Agriculture in Oklahoma Agriculture in Texas Agriculture in Canada 20th - century droughts 1930 natural disasters in the United States Natural disasters in Oklahoma 1930s natural disasters 1930s droughts Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from February 2011 Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Wikipedia indefinitely move - protected pages Use mdy dates from March 2015 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015 All Wikipedia articles needing clarification Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2016 All pages needing factual verification Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from March 2016 Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Azərbaycanca Català Чӑвашла Čeština Deutsch Diné bizaad Español فارسی Français Gaeilge ગુજરાતી 한국어 हिन्दी Íslenska Italiano עברית Latina Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 28 more Edit links This page was last edited on 27 April 2018 , at 05 : 48 . 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Question: what were the two causes of the dust bowl