The Communist Party of India (Marxist) stalwart and the incumbent General Secretary Sitaram Yechury succumbed to his illness on Thursday at the age of 72, leaving behind an eventful legacy in the Indian political sphere. He was under treatment at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after being admitted on August 19 with pneumonia.

Born on August 12, 1952, in Chennai, Yechury grew up in Hyderabad and studied at the All Saints High School, till his tenth standard. Yechury’s noted political life started right from the JNU when he joined the Student Federation of India (SFI) while he was an MA student at the central university in 1974; later in 1975, he joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Read Also: Sitaram Yechury, Beloved Comrade And CPI(M) General Secretary, Dies At 72

The comrade’s arrest during the 1975 Emergency changed his life, earning him a life-changing reputation on the campus. The arrest forced the academically bright Yechury to abort his PhD, but his resistance activities from the underground against the emergency allowed him to present his mettle among the intellectuals and activists. After his release, Yechury’s rise was quick, with him becoming the JNU students’ union president thrice between 1977 and 1978, creating an indomitable left presence in India’s prestigious institution, spanning even in the years to come. Despite not hailing from Bengal or Kerala, the left citadels of the country, Yechury managed to garner influence from across the country over the years, since he left for Delhi, kick starting his political career.

Read Also: Sitaram Yechury’s Health Condition Critical: CPI(M)

The comrade’s clout and networking skills took him to the party’s top, ascending through the political ladder. Within a short span of time, he landed on the central committee in 1985 and to the politburo in 1992. Since then, Yechury has been seen as one of the party’s vocal public faces. Besides retaining camaraderie even with those having opposite political ideologies, Yechury’s expertise in several languages, including Bangla, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and even Malayalam, further enhanced his direct accessibility to every corner of the country, which eventually made him the fifth General Secretary of CPI (M) in 2015. Yechury was hence picked as the party’s chief three times consecutively.

He has also been credited with pursuing coalition-building efforts in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and has played a crucial role in mobilising secular democratic forces  throughout his political life. The comrade’s stance against communal forces had been manifested by his life itself.

Yechury has, on many occasions, been adamant on the communally sensitive issues in the country, and the comrade has been a staunch critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for allegedly trying to divide people based on religion. He has spoken against CAA, the Uniform Civil Code, and the abrogation of Article 370, among many others. A highly educated comrade, Yechury has authored several books and has written articles for several newspapers. Well-versed in Hindu mythology and world history, Yechury has countered the BJP’s arguments in Parliament several times using his knowledge.

A widely recognised figure even among political rivals, Yechury has been considered a beloved comrade for many political stars of the country. Soon after his demise, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called him a protector of the idea of India with a deep understanding of the country. “I will miss the long discussions we used to have. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and followers in this hour of grief,” the opposition leader wrote in a social media post.