A liberal Marxist
As a pragmatic leader, Sitaram Yechury, whose friendships spanned political lines and who was keen about Indian philosophy despite being a communist, promoted pluralism and dialogue-based democracy
Sitaram Yechury liked to make jokes about his name. He used to say, "I own Sita and Ram! I am against Ram”. Not only that, he used to declare: “Despite my admiration for the significant impact this puranic figure has had on Indian society, I am an atheist communist”. Sitaram Yechury is no longer with us. His ideological friend Buddhadeb Bhattacharya passed away a few days earlier. Sitaram's exit now appears to be that of an artisan who followed a liberal route in Marxist philosophy. Sitaram Yechury was a communist-atheist with a humanitarian heart. A man who supported Indian pluralism with great conviction. It was easy for him to like Nehru's way of thinking. All of them, even the late Chief Minister Jyoti Bose and the late Harkishan Singh Surjit, also known as Somnath Chatterjee, were at ease with Sitaram. He was a pragmatic leader discussing how to topple Narendra Modi's BJP from the national political scene with Rahul Gandhi and other non-BJP politicians just a few days before he left.
Any notable person who rises to a particular height has a large circle built around him. As a result, he grew close to a wide range of individuals from various backgrounds and occupations. I also acquired a piece of Sitaram Yechury's big sky when working as a journalist in Delhi.
There's something that comes to mind.
On a chilly morning, Comrade dialled me, and the first thing he said was that he was in dire need of multiple books authored by Swami Vivekananda. 'East and West' is one of them and ‘Karma Yoga’ is the other.
Oh, father, I exclaimed.
Did JNU's communist convert, Sitaram, ask for these?
Recall the long time before 2014.
I answered, “Your office is located in Delhi's Gole Market. The headquarters and Ramakrishna Mission Ashram in Delhi are quite close. You can get all the books there. If you would like, I can bring some more books. I will tell you after I speak with Swami Gokulanandji, the head of the Ramakrishna Mission Delhi Ashram”. I then gave the Delhi Maharaj a call. Gokulanandaji expressed his happiness hearing that Sitaram Yechury was interested in studying Swamiji. “Why just Swamiji? I'll also share some English translations of the literature of Ma Sarada and Ramakrishna Dev. However, he is not required to send someone. I'm heading to the CPM headquarters myself. Very near! Well, that's the general gait! I'll be going alone”. Swami Gokulanandji is visiting the party headquarters, I informed Sitaram. Gokulanandaji arrived at the AK Gopalan Bhavan, the party headquarters: two bags, several books, and two hands. I went with him as well.
This experience is still fresh in my memory.
Afterward, I spoke with Sitaram about the fate of those books. "I have to go to Kerala to give a speech," Sitaram stated. That lecture will require these books. Then Sitaram said, "Our Communist Party used to have a lot of false beliefs about us." Our EMS Nambudripad read extensively on ‘Indian Philosophy’ and ‘Swami Vivekananda's Rachnavali.’ Even EMS has consistently insisted that one must read Gandhism thoroughly before criticizing it. EMS Nambudripad is a Keralan Brahmin of the top caste who turned communist. There is much debate about whether or not a communist should be an atheist. But Shankaracharya was a man from Kerala himself. Shankaracharya's math is highly regarded. Sitaram Yechury still needed to travel to Kerala frequently. At the Vidyatana, adjacent to Shankaracharya's monastery, Sitaram Yechury even attended a talk on Swami Vivekananda. Sitaram Yechury routinely studied Rashtra Bhavna and Swami Vivekananda's Indian philosophy, in addition to his socialist outlook.
The name Sitaram Yechury is unfamiliar to many of us. Sitaram Yechury had a close relationship with many journalists. The main explanation for this is that Sitaram Yechury was an extremely gregarious individual. He cherished his conversations with reporters. He had different interactions with the media. In contrast, Prakash Karat did not engage in much social interaction. Prakash Karat was a team player and an organizer, which set him apart from Sitaram Yechury. He wasn't an envoy for the party. Prakash cherished his alone time. Between Prakash and Sitaram, there were numerous distinctions. There have occasionally been a lot of political disputes and arguments. But both respected each other to every bit! Sitaram Yechury wasn't an extreme person. The editor of the daily Anandabazar, Abhik Sarkar, was good friends with Sitaram Yechury. Abhik Babu once asked Sitaram to supper at the Oberoi Hotel in Delhi. Yes, I was there as well. We talked into the night. Essentially, Bharat Tattva was the subject of conversation. Sitaram and Jyoti Babu were very close. Instead, Jyoti Babu and Prakash Karat disagreed on several points. On the other hand, Sitaram remained good friends with Somnath Chatterjee and Jyoti Babu. Sitaram was a progressive, Left-wing politician. Seema Chisti, Sitaram's wife, once worked as the BBC Urdu channel's editor. Seema is from an elite Muslim family herself. She enjoys studying a lot. I used to frequently call Seema in situations where Sitaram wasn't available. He was home, Seema used to say. Sitaram had never lent himself well to mobile use. He made use of a smartphone; however, Sitaram did not care to constantly use his mobile device for social media or to read texts. As I was writing about Sitaram, Charms cigarettes sprang to mind. At that time, Charms cigarettes came in little blue packs. I'm not sure if it's currently accessible. Sitaram smoked Charms cigarettes in the past. He was a heavy cigarette smoker once. A chronic smoker! He had a passion for cuisine. He held onto five-star hotel invitations. He was not of the prohibitionist culture. I joked about the five-star hotel once. Sitaram informed me that Jyoti Babu had visited a five-star hotel as well. There, you can eat and drink. Is it stated in our communism that a communist is not allowed to eat at a five-star establishment? We have nothing against fine dining or beverages served in five-star establishments. We want this chance to be available to everyone. Society will not be divided based on class! This type of meal is only consumed by the wealthy. Marxism aims to provide that possibility for the common people, the impoverished people.
Sitaram Yechury and Pranab Mukherjee were also very close friends. The Central Hall of the former Parliament served as an excellent venue for our meetings. Regardless of party affiliation, there were conversations between Sitaram Yechury and Arun Jaitley. Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and Congressman Shashi Tharoor would also participate in those conversations. Jaya Bachchan used to attend those discussions as well. Owing to his habit of chain smoking, Sitaram Yechury occasionally left the Rajya Sabha and made his way to the Central Hall. A tiny space next to the main hall was designated as a smoking area. Thus, many people gathered in this smoker's chamber in the old Parliament. Nilotpal Bose was often there with Sitaram Yechury. BJP MP Naqvi, a former minister for minority affairs, also smoked and was a regular in the smoking area alongside Yechury and other party leaders.
There weren't many smokers in the BJP, while Congress and the Left had a higher smoking rate. Chandan Mitra, the late journalist and Rajya Sabha member, was a frequent companion of Sitaram Yechury. He was a heavy smoker as well. In the Central Hall, a buzz of conversation often developed around Yechury.
However, Sitaram and Pranab Babu did not become close friends right away. Pranab Babu was well-liked by Harkishan Singh Surjeet. After Surjeet's passing, Sitaram became the conduit for correspondence between Pranab Mukherjee and the Congress. The Left was adamantly against the nuclear agreement during Manmohan Singh's tenure as prime minister. Later, the CPM, led by Prakash Karat, stopped lending its assistance. That being said, Sitaram Yechury supported carrying out the nuclear deal. Every day, talks regarding how to make the deal happen took place with Pranab Babu. Sitaram Yechury even brought Prakash Karat to meet Pranab Babu, but Karat remained unconvinced. Pranab Babu chose not to hear; and so did Sitaram Yechury.
Sitaram Yechury was a man whose ethos was "match, he will match." Today, the Communist Party has lost a dynamic leader who promoted dialogue-based democracy.
Views expressed are personal