CPIM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury Passes Away at AIIMS New Delhi

CPIM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, aged 72, sadly passed away on September 12, 2024, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. He was undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit for a severe lung infection that had led to respiratory complications. Despite improvements in his condition, complications caused by pneumonia ultimately led to his demise.

Yechury’s family has generously decided to donate his body to AIIMS for educational and research purposes. Yechury had a brief period of improved health before his condition worsened again, requiring support from a ventilator in the ICU. He had also recently undergone cataract surgery, which added to the complexity of his health condition.

Yechury’s journey in public service began as a student leader at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where he was part of the Students' Federation of India (SFI). Yechury became involved in public activism during 1974, just before the Emergency, and was arrested in 1975. He served as the president of the JNU Students’ Union three times between 1977 and 1978.

Yechury played a pivotal role in the drafting of the Common Minimum Programme of the United Front Government in 1996 and was instrumental in forming alliances during the UPA Government in 2004. Born on August 12, 1952, in Chennai, he was the son of Sarveshwara Somayajulu Yechury and Kalpakam Yechury from Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. His father was an engineer with the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, and his mother was a government official.

Sitaram Yechury completed his early education at All Saints School in Hyderabad before moving to Delhi as part of the Telangana movement in 1969. He went on to complete his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in economics from St. Stephen's College and JNU, respectively. Even though he couldn’t complete his Ph.D. due to arrests during the Emergency, his dedication to public service was unwavering.

Yechury joined the CPI(M) in 1975 and became part of its Central Committee in 1985, eventually being elected to the Politburo in 1992. In April 2015, he was appointed as the General Secretary of the CPI(M), a position he held for nine years. He also served as the editor of the party’s newspaper, People's Democracy.