Mahesh Kumar
Jana Natya Manch, also known as Janam Theatre, has expressed sorrow at the passing of Sitaram Yechury, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M).
In a press release, the Left theatre group hailed Yechury for his ‘stellar’ contributions to the students’ movement, the building of anti-communal unity, the formation of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments, parliamentary discussions and debates, advancing Marxist theory, and strengthening Left and Communist forces in India and internationally. His contributions will be long remembered, Janam said.
Calling his death a personal loss, Janam noted the deep and longstanding friendship between Yechury and Safdar Hashmi. The group recalled their association during the 1980s in formulating students’ struggles and conceptualizing a cultural center for the working class.
Janam also mentioned that Yechury was the speaker at the first All India Meeting of Street Theatre Activists in Delhi in 1998, which was organized by Janam.
Read the full statement below:
Jana Natya Manch expresses profound grief at the untimely death of Comrade Sitaram Yechury, life-long Marxist and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
The main details of Comrade Sitaram’s life are well-known. His stellar contributions to the students’ movement, the building of anti-communal unity, the formation of non-BJP governments, parliamentary discussions and debates, advancing Marxist theory, and to strengthening Left and Communist forces in India and internationally will be long remembered. Already rich tributes are pouring in from across the political spectrum, testifying to his unmatched ability to reach out across boundaries and persuade others with reason, pragmatism and good cheer, without compromising his own firm ideological beliefs. What doubtless also helped was that he spoke several languages!
For Janam, his loss feels personal. Safdar Hashmi and Sitaram Yechury were close friends, and shared an easy camaraderie. When Sitaram Yechury decided to revamp the journal of the Students’ Federation of India, Students’ Struggle, he enlisted Safdar’s help. Comrade Sitaram conceptualised, and Safdar designed, the special Karl Marx Centenary Issue of Students’ Struggle in 1983, and Safdar subsequently contributed several articles to the journal under Comrade Sitaram’s editorship. Comrade Sitaram was deeply interested in cultural and artistic matters, and would engage Safdar in long discussions. When Safdar began conceptualising a cultural centre in a working class neighbourhood, Comrade Sitaram was one of the first people he consulted. Safdar was killed before that dream could be realised, but when Janam established Studio Safdar, we consulted Comrade Sitaram, who gave us insightful advice. Several of Janam’s plays, from the early years to more recently, also benefited from his incisive responses.
When Janam organised the first All India Meeting of Street Theatre Activists in Delhi in 1998, Comrade Sitaram addressed the participants and outlined the main tasks on the cultural front. Later, he happily accepted our invitation to deliver the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Lecture at Studio Safdar in 2014, and to be chief guest at the 1st January 2020 public meeting in memory of Safdar and Ram Bahadur at Jhandapur.
Comrade Sitaram was the first political leader to critique the idea of Hindutva conceptually. His 1993 booklet “What is this Hindu Rashtra?: On Golwalkar's Fascistic Ideology and the Saffron Brigade's Practice” explained the fascistic nature of the Hindu Right’s ideology and politics in a popular, non-jargonistic style. It is no surprise that leaders of non-BJP parties sought his counsel and advice regularly.
Comrade Sitaram was a brilliant student who devoted his life to the cause of socialism and never wavered from his mission. His life is an inspiring example for young people. The world is a little bit poorer without him. Janam will miss his warmth, his quick wit and sense of humour, his ideological clarity, his political steadfastness, and deep wisdom. His infectious smile will remind us that even in the toughest of times, our struggle is to create a culture that values empathy, love, humanity and solidarity.
Lal Salaam, Comrade Sitaram Yechury!
In a press release, the Left theatre group hailed Yechury for his ‘stellar’ contributions to the students’ movement, the building of anti-communal unity, the formation of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments, parliamentary discussions and debates, advancing Marxist theory, and strengthening Left and Communist forces in India and internationally. His contributions will be long remembered, Janam said.
Calling his death a personal loss, Janam noted the deep and longstanding friendship between Yechury and Safdar Hashmi. The group recalled their association during the 1980s in formulating students’ struggles and conceptualizing a cultural center for the working class.
Janam also mentioned that Yechury was the speaker at the first All India Meeting of Street Theatre Activists in Delhi in 1998, which was organized by Janam.
Read the full statement below:
Jana Natya Manch expresses profound grief at the untimely death of Comrade Sitaram Yechury, life-long Marxist and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
The main details of Comrade Sitaram’s life are well-known. His stellar contributions to the students’ movement, the building of anti-communal unity, the formation of non-BJP governments, parliamentary discussions and debates, advancing Marxist theory, and to strengthening Left and Communist forces in India and internationally will be long remembered. Already rich tributes are pouring in from across the political spectrum, testifying to his unmatched ability to reach out across boundaries and persuade others with reason, pragmatism and good cheer, without compromising his own firm ideological beliefs. What doubtless also helped was that he spoke several languages!
For Janam, his loss feels personal. Safdar Hashmi and Sitaram Yechury were close friends, and shared an easy camaraderie. When Sitaram Yechury decided to revamp the journal of the Students’ Federation of India, Students’ Struggle, he enlisted Safdar’s help. Comrade Sitaram conceptualised, and Safdar designed, the special Karl Marx Centenary Issue of Students’ Struggle in 1983, and Safdar subsequently contributed several articles to the journal under Comrade Sitaram’s editorship. Comrade Sitaram was deeply interested in cultural and artistic matters, and would engage Safdar in long discussions. When Safdar began conceptualising a cultural centre in a working class neighbourhood, Comrade Sitaram was one of the first people he consulted. Safdar was killed before that dream could be realised, but when Janam established Studio Safdar, we consulted Comrade Sitaram, who gave us insightful advice. Several of Janam’s plays, from the early years to more recently, also benefited from his incisive responses.
When Janam organised the first All India Meeting of Street Theatre Activists in Delhi in 1998, Comrade Sitaram addressed the participants and outlined the main tasks on the cultural front. Later, he happily accepted our invitation to deliver the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Lecture at Studio Safdar in 2014, and to be chief guest at the 1st January 2020 public meeting in memory of Safdar and Ram Bahadur at Jhandapur.
Comrade Sitaram was the first political leader to critique the idea of Hindutva conceptually. His 1993 booklet “What is this Hindu Rashtra?: On Golwalkar's Fascistic Ideology and the Saffron Brigade's Practice” explained the fascistic nature of the Hindu Right’s ideology and politics in a popular, non-jargonistic style. It is no surprise that leaders of non-BJP parties sought his counsel and advice regularly.
Comrade Sitaram was a brilliant student who devoted his life to the cause of socialism and never wavered from his mission. His life is an inspiring example for young people. The world is a little bit poorer without him. Janam will miss his warmth, his quick wit and sense of humour, his ideological clarity, his political steadfastness, and deep wisdom. His infectious smile will remind us that even in the toughest of times, our struggle is to create a culture that values empathy, love, humanity and solidarity.
Lal Salaam, Comrade Sitaram Yechury!
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