Sitaram Yechury passes away at 72: Know lesser known facts about the CPI(M) leader

Sitaram Yechury, former CPI(M) leader and key figure in Indian politics, passed away at 72. Learn about his life, legacy, and contributions to the India politics.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, who was admitted to AIIMS Delhi, passed away on Thursday after prolonged illness, news agency PTI reported citing party and hospital sources. Notably, on August 19, Yechury was brought to AIIMS to receive treatment for a chest illness that mimicked pneumonia. Sitaram passed away at the age of 72. Sitaram was being treated by a diverse team of physicians and had been placed on breathing support for the last three days.

Who was Sitaram Yechury?

In 2015, Prakash Karat was replaced as the CPM's general secretary by Sitaram Yechury. He was raised by party leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet, who had been a key player in coalition era governing under two governments: the United Front government of 1996–1997 and the National Front government of V P Singh, both of which the CPI(M) had backed externally. Remarkably, Sitaram had been instrumental in the negotiations with the government about the Indo-US nuclear agreement, which resulted in the Left parties abandoning the UPA-I government due to Karat's unyielding stance.

Lesser known facts about Sitaram Yechury

• It's important to note that Sitaram Yechury served as the Politburo Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary of the Central Committee from April 19, 2015, till the end of his second term as a Rajya Sabha member in 2017.
• Sitaram Yechury was born in Chennai on August 12, 1952, raised in Hyderabad, and attended All Saints High School till he finished his tenth standard (Class 10). During the Telangana uprising in 1969, he eventually travelled to Delhi.

• Sitaram enrolled at Presidents Estate School in Delhi and won the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Higher Secondary Examination, earning the top spot throughout all of India.
• Additionally, he received first rank in both the B A (Hons) and M A in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and St Stephen's College, Delhi.

• Later, Sitaram enrolled in JNU to pursue a PhD in Economics, but his studies were cut short when he was arrested in 1975 during "The Emergency." In the 1970s, Sitaram served as President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union three times, under the direction of the Students' Federation of India (SFI).
• He was later taken into custody during the Emergency. He was instrumental, together with Prakash Karat, for making JNU a bastion of the Left.