Sitaram Yechury, the National General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has died at the age of 72. Yechury, who had been battling respiratory issues for some time, passed away this afternoon at AIIMS in Delhi, where he had been receiving treatment.
Yechury was admitted to AIIMS on August 19 due to a respiratory infection. Despite being placed on a ventilator, his health continued to deteriorate over the past few days.
Born on August 12, 1952, in Chennai, Yechury completed his education in Hyderabad and pursued a BA in Economics at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He was actively involved in the Telangana movement in 1969 and joined the Student Federation of India (SFI) in 1974. He became a member of the CPI (Marxist) the following year and was notably arrested during the Emergency in 1975 while studying at JNU.
Yechury’s first wife, Indrani Majumdar, was a renowned educator and leftist activist. His second marriage was to Seema Chishti, a prominent journalist. He is survived by three children.