Sitaram Yechury; quintessential communist who was a comrade to all

In the passing away of Sitaram Yechury, we have lost a leader who gave a youthful glow to the communist-left movement in the country. He was a leader who marked himself at all levels of political leadership as a great organiser, an ideological exponent, and a pioneer of front political formation. With a smiling face, he won a place in the hearts of the people. Apart from the confines of the Communist Party and the Left movements, he was embraced by the entire democratic and secular people of the country. To be acceptable to all sections of people beyond the sheer limitations of party politics is something that only a few leaders can do. After AKG, EMS and Sundarayya, the country's all-time light towers of the communist movement, and VS, who is now at rest, Yechury was able to touch the hearts of the people, though through different methods. Communists and Left activists in Kerala saw Yechury as if he were a Malayalee. His delightful looks and clarity of words were received by Kerala with great expectations.

Yechury became the leader of the CPI(M) in the country by making a mark at every step of the organisational work as general secretary for nine years in three phases, a long-time politburo-central committee member of the party, an SFI leader and president of the country's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union. Yechury, who tried to determine the complex paths of economics, reached the streets of political life full of tears and sorrows as if it were destined. Yechury was arrested and jailed during the Emergency when he was a research student at JNU after passing his MA in Economics with first class. His research stopped as a result, but he jumped into the laboratory of political science. In fact, Yechury's bright political personality was extracted from JNU by communist leaders EMS and Sundarayya. Yechury's academic excellence also strengthened him in political ways.

Yechury had a rich family tradition of education and professional positions. Though rooted in Kakinada in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, he was born in Madras. Studied in Madras and Delhi. He had cleared the CBSE Class 12 exams from Delhi's President's Estate School and was ranked first in the country. He completed his BA Honours from St Stephen's College, Delhi and MA in Economics from JNU with first class. He was fluent in many languages including Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and English. All in all, Yechury's personality had a pan-Indian look. He was able to see the Indian political and social situation with insight. He also had an impeccable view of international events. Yechury excelled in distinguishing between the pros and cons of front politics and taking positions in Indian politics on the basis of it.

Yechury stood by Harkishan Singh Surjeet in forming the first UPA government and in preparing a standard minimum programme. The draft standard minimum programme was prepared in collaboration with Congress leader P Chidambaram.

In the days of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries, he always upheld the communist view that socialism was the only alternative to capitalism. Yechury also expressed the same view in his speech at the conference hall in Visakhapatnam soon after he was elected as the party's all-India general secretary on April 19, 2015. His arrival in Thiruvananthapuram on the fifth day of being elected as general secretary and the 'Meet the Press' held at the Kesari Memorial Hall by the Union of Journalists on that day is still a warm experience in the memories of journalists in Thiruvananthapuram.

His interventions in the parliamentary arena as a member of the Rajya Sabha during 2005-17, are part of Indian political history. Yechury spoke out in the Rajya Sabha eloquently against the Manmohan Singh government's move to enter into a nuclear deal with the US during the first UPA government, even at a time of offering support. Yechury was the face of the Communist Party at conferences in foreign socialist countries. His experience of being in charge of the international wing of the party also contributed to this.
He took special care to keep personal friendships even as he stood by his party's creeds and fought against the opposition. It was this view in international politics that enabled him to be a critic of US foreign policy, to criticize Obama's arrival as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade, to oppose the US military's interventions in the Middle East, and to express solidarity with the Palestinians.

The untimely death of his son, Ashish Yechury, due to Covid-19 in April 2021, was the pain that followed Yechury. However, that personal loss did not affect his political engagements in any way. During the recent Lok Sabha elections, he was active for the LDF in all the districts of Kerala and addressed rallies. The last time he came to Kerala for an event was in Kollam in the first week of July two months ago.
Yechury, a mild-mannered face in the party, was able to get in touch with anyone without the stubbornness of ideology but stuck to his ideals at the same time. Yechury's sudden demise comes amid his efforts to strengthen the party as a top leader of the CPM. It is a great loss for the party and the left believers. He was a leader who always maintained a cordial relationship with 'Kerala Kaumudi'. We bow down to those memories.