Sitaram Yechury

Infobox_Indian_politician
name = Sitaram Yechury
సీతారాం యేచూరి

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caption = Sitaram Yechury
residence = New Delhi
birth_date=birth date and age|1958|8|12
birth_place = Hyderabad
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office = Politburo Member, Communist Party of India (Marxist)
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party = Communist Party of India (Marxist)
religion = Atheist
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source = Sitaram Yechury (Telugu : సీతారాం యేచూరి) (born August 12, 1952) is an India politician and one of the best known communist faces in the country. He is a senior member of the politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the party's Parliamentary group leader.

Early life

Yechury was born to Ram Chandra and Kalpakkam in Hyderabad in a family hailing from Kakinada. After school education at All Saints Grammar School in Hyderabad. He moved to Delhi due to disruption of academic life as a result of the Telengana movement in 1969.

In 1970, he completed Higher Secondary (one year course) standing first in the All India merit list. In 1973, he completed B.A. (Hons) in Economics, first class, from St. Stephen's College, a constituent college of the University of Delhi. He went on to complete his M.A (Economics) from JNU

Political career

Yechury joined the Students Federation of India (SFI) in 1974. A year later, he joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In 1975, he completed his M.A., first class, in Economics, from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. Subsequently, he joined JNU for a Ph.D. degree which he could not complete due to his arrest during Emergency.

He was underground for some time, organising resistance to the Emergency, before his arrest in 1975. After the Emergency, he was elected as President of the JNU Students' Union thrice during one year (1977-78). He is the only JNU president to hold this unique distinction.

In 1978, he was elected as All India Joint Secretary of SFI, and went on the become the All India President of SFI. He left SFI in 1986. In 1984, he was invited to the Central Committee of the CPI(M). He was elected to the Central Committee in the CPI(M) XII Congress in 1985, to the Central Secretariat at the Thirteenth Congress in 1988 and to the Politburo at the Fourteenth Congress in 1992.

He was elected to Rajya Sabha from West Bengal in July 2005. [ [http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/23/stories/2005082306871200.htm http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/23/stories/2005082306871200.htm] ]

He is one of the most prolific Left writers in the country, having authored many books. His book on Saffron Brigade after the demolition of Babri Masjid is a best-selling Left work. An avid writer, he is a columnist with largely circulated daily, "Hindustan Times". [ [http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=3b5fdfc7-66bb-428e-8948-e312d3dacba0Nucleardealimbroglio_Special&MatchID1=4574&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=2&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1147&PrimaryID=4574&Headline=N-deal+a+threat+to+sovereignty%3a+Yechury http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=3b5fdfc7-66bb-428e-8948-e312d3dacba0Nucleardealimbroglio_Special&MatchID1=4574&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=2&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1147&PrimaryID=4574&Headline=N-deal+a+threat+to+sovereignty%3a+Yechury] ]

A well travelled person, Yechury is one of the few Indian leaders to have met Fidel Castro more than once. Yechury has represented his party at many international forums and communist conferences. Recently, he played a pivotal role in convincing the Nepali Maoists to embrace parliamentary democracy. He is currently the Head of the International Department of CPI(M) and Editor of the central party weekly organ, "People's Democracy". [ [http://www.cpim.org/bio/sitaram_yechury.htm Biography of Yechury on CPI(M) website] ]

Personal life

Yechury is married to journalist Seema Chishti. A former BBC correspondent, presently the Resident Editor of Indian Express, Delhi. He has a daughter from the first marriage.

References