“When the party split in 1964, with Dange insisting that the CPI national council should adopt the resolution passed by the Indian National Congress, I was among the 32 [the others included M. Basavapunnaiah, P. Sundarayya, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, A.K. Gopalan and Basu] of the 101 national council members who walked out to form the CPI(M). We were ridiculed and criticised for what was described as our “anti-India stand”. But we believed that the two neighbouring countries that had fought imperialistic forces should not fall for the imperialist trap by going to war against each other but instead should solve our disputes in a peaceful manner. With Basu’s death, there are only two [of the 32 founding members] left, N. Sankariah [Tamil Nadu] and I. Basu’s passing away is in many ways a personal loss for me.” - V.S. Achuthanandan, Kerala Chief Minister.