A leftist who held rivals in high esteem
IN Sitaram Yechury’s death, India has lost not only one of its best-known left-wing leaders but also one of the finest communist representatives in Parliament.
Yechury and Prakash Karat, two general secretaries of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), were my contemporaries at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Yechury did MA from JNU’s Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, which was founded by the late Prof Krishna Bharadwaj, my MPhil supervisor. Prof Bharadwaj once remarked that Yechury’s coursework essays were so good that even awarding the highest grade was not enough. He started working on his PhD under Prof Bharadwaj’s supervision but could not complete it as he had to go underground and was eventually arrested for a brief period for his opposition to the 1975 Emergency.
Politically, Yechury and I were in opposing camps of left politics at JNU. I was part of a Trotskyist group which attracted talented and well-read left-wing students to its fold and was critical of the Stalinist orientation of India’s communist parties (especially CPM). Yechury, as an activist of the CPM’s student wing, the Student Federation of India, was part of the Stalinist heritage of Indian communists. However, at a personal level, we were friendly with each other. His first wife, Indrani Mazumdar, was also committed to the CPM’s politics. They suffered a big blow in April 2021 when their son Ashish died of Covid-19.
When Yechury ran for the president of the JNU Students’ Union in 1977, I publicly supported Rajan James, one of his rivals for the post. James had left the CPI-affiliated All India Students’ Federation (AISF). Though the CPI has been comparatively less Stalinist, his departure from the AISF seemed to be a positive move away from Stalinism that deserved support. Yechury won the election, but he told James and me that he respected our democratic right to oppose him.
Yechury’s ability to maintain friendly relations even with those with whom he disagreed was a testament to his character. This quality became one of the enduring aspects of his life when he rose to become one of the top political leaders in India. This trait did not remain personal; it became integrated into his vision of defending democracy, minority rights and federal devolution of political and economic powers. This vision envisaged giving a positive direction to governance to create a just polity for marginalised sections of society.
Yechury’s decision to donate his body for medical research was a profound demonstration of his convictions. It underscored his belief in the importance of devoting one’s life to the advancement of humanity.
