Sitaram Yechury (1952-2024): Communist leader who dreamed of a better India and a better world
Sudheendra Kulkarni, who knew him for four decades, pays tribute to pays tribute to the outstanding Left leader.
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In politics, there is no logical link between good human beings and successful political parties. A successful political party may have a leader with detestable human qualities. By contrast, a person with sterling qualities ─ honesty, integrity, humility, selfless service, intellectual brilliance, courage to fight and make sacrifices for one’s principles ─ may become the leader of a failed political party.
Sitaram Yechury exemplified the second category.
The communist movement in India has failed. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), the largest contingent of the communist movement, has only four MPs in the Lok Sabha, with 1.78% in the national vote share. It heads a coalition government in only one Indian state, Kerala. Its two other strongholds, West Bengal and Tripura, have crumbled. There are no signs on the horizon that the communists will ever become a formidable force capable of shaping India’s destiny.
What then explains the outpouring of grief at the passing of Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on September 12? Not in recent memory has the death of a communist leader in India been mourned by so many people across the political and social spectrum.
Social media is inundated with messages that convey a deep sense of loss. Political leaders, mostly...
