Introduction
Born on August 12, 1952, Sitaram Yechury is a Marxist politician from India who serves as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India. He joined the Politburo in 1992 and represented West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha from 2005 until 2017.
Early life
Yechury was born in Chennai on August 12, 1952, to Telugu-speaking parents. His mother worked as a government officer, and his father was an engineer. After attending All Saints High School in Hyderabad, where he was raised, he later relocated to Delhi, where he excelled in the CBSE Higher Secondary Examination. He earned an M.A. from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a B.A. (Hons.) in Economics from St. Stephen's College. His Ph.D. studies were halted due to his incarceration during The Emergency.
Political Career
In 1975, Yechury joined the CPI(M), and in 1974, he joined the Students' Federation of India. Although he was detained during the Emergency, he later rose to the position of President of the JNU Students' Union. With reelections in 2018 and 2022, he advanced through the CPI(M) ranks to become General Secretary in 2015. Besides editing the party publication, Hindustan Times, he writes for it and is well-known for forming coalitions.
Role in Raiyab Sabha
Yechury, who was elected from West Bengal to the Rajya Sabha in 2005, is renowned for emphasizing important topics and championing parliamentary disruptions as a legitimate democratic procedure. Despite his party overriding his criteria, he participated in the discussions for the Indo-US Nuclear Pact. Yechury's vote-passed amendment to President Mukherjee's speech on March 3, 2015, embarrassed the Modi government and was only the fourth time in Rajya Sabha history to do so.
Views on United states
Yechury is a fierce opponent of US foreign policy, explaining its pursuit of global hegemony as the cause of continuing hostilities and the denial of Palestinian rights, and denouncing US actions in West Asia for encouraging Islamic radicalism. Additionally, he is against the repeal of Articles 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir.
Personal life
Yechury is wed to journalist Seema Chisti, a former BBC Hindi Service editor in Delhi and current editor of The Wire. He is survived by his daughter Akhila, a history professor at the Universities of Edinburgh and St. Andrews, and his son Ashish, who passed away in 2021 from COVID-19. He was married to Indrani Mazumdar before. Mohan Kanda, a former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh, is Yechury's maternal uncle. He was listed on an additional chargesheet for the 2020 Delhi riots, which he believes were the result of the BJP abusing its authority. He was critically ill when brought to AIIMS Delhi in August 2023.
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