Sitaram Yechury : Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away today at the age of 72. After falling seriously ill, he was admitted to Delhi AIIMS where he breathed his last this afternoon. He was admitted to AIIMS on 19 August after complaining of difficulty in breathing. Despite all the efforts of the doctors, his life could not be saved. Yechury had expressed his wish to donate his body to AIIMS and his family fulfilled his wish and donated Yechury’s body to AIIMS.
With the demise of Sitaram Yechury, a major pillar of leftist politics in the country has collapsed. He was elected General Secretary of CPI(M) for three consecutive terms. He became active in the field of politics from his student days. Apart from being the President of Student Federation of India, he was also the President of JNU Students Union. As a Rajya Sabha member, he constantly put forward his frank opinion on various issues related to the country. Leaders of many political parties have expressed deep grief over his demise and paid emotional tribute to him.
Early education in Hyderabad
Sitaram Yechury was born on August 12, 1952 in a Telugu-speaking Brahmin family in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. His father SS Yechury was an engineer in the Andhra Pradesh Transport Department and mother Kalpakam Yechury was a government officer. Sitaram Yechury’s early education took place in Hyderabad. He studied till tenth standard in All Saints High School, Hyderabad.
First position at all India level
Sitaram Yechury was very bright in studies and he made Delhi his destination for further studies. He took admission in Delhi’s President’s School. How brilliant he was in studies can be understood from the fact that Yechury secured first position at the all India level in the Central Board of Secondary Education Higher Secondary Examination.
After this, Yechury did BM Honors in Economics from Stephen College, Delhi. Later he took admission in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and completed his postgraduate studies from JNU. In 1975, Yechury started doing PhD in JNU itself.
Active in politics since student life
Yechury had become active in politics since his student days. After taking admission in JNU, he started participating actively in politics. In 1974, he joined the Student Federation of India and later became a member of the CPI(M). In 1975, after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in the country, he went underground to fight for the restoration of democracy.
Those close to him believe that this was a turning point in his life and during this time his commitment to communist ideology grew stronger. During 1977-78 he took over the responsibility of JNU student union president.
He became the general secretary of CPI(M) for three consecutive terms
Sitaram Yechury was one of the big names in Indian politics. He was a member of the CPM’s Politburo for nearly 32 years. He first became a member of the CPM’s Politburo in 1992. In 2005, he was elected as a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal.
In 2015, he was elected General Secretary of CPI(M) for the first time. After this, in 2018 and 2022, he was given the big responsibility of the post of General Secretary of CPI(M) for the second and third time.
architect of coalition politics
During his long political career of nearly five decades, he remained the pivot of leftist politics. He is also credited with bringing the leftist parties into coalition politics. During UPA One and UPA Two, he was the one who prepared the leftist parties to become a part of the government.
Sitaram Yechury also played an important role in discussions with the UPA government on the issue of the Indo-US nuclear deal. However, in 2008, the left parties withdrew their support to the government on this issue, mainly due to his and Prakash Karat’s adamant stand.
However, in 1996, when Jyoti Basu could have got the post of Prime Minister, he along with Prakash Karat opposed this decision. Jyoti Basu himself openly called this decision a historical mistake.
Left an impression as a Rajya Sabha member
He also left his mark as a Rajya Sabha member. He was chosen as the best Rajya Sabha MP in 2016. He fought all his life for values like secularism and social and economic equality.
He was always active in bringing together parties with similar ideology. Yechury’s personality was such that he had very good relations with other parties including Congress, RJD and SP. This was the reason why leaders of all political parties respected him.
The son died in 2021
Yechury’s wife Seema Chishti is a journalist by profession. During an interview, Yechury had said that his wife supports him financially. By the way, Yechury had two marriages. His first marriage was with Indrani Majumdar, daughter of Veena Majumdar. He has a daughter and a son from this marriage.
In 2021, Yechury suffered a major mental shock when his son Ashish died at the age of 34 due to Corona. Experts say that now the death of Sitaram Yechury has dealt a severe blow to the politics of leftist parties in the country.