An image showing people paying their respects to late Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury is going viral on the internet to claim that the late leader was actually a Christian.
What have users said?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user shared the image with a caption that said, "Name: Sitaram Yechuri. Religion: Christian. Imagine how many people he had fooled with his Hindu name while being a rice bag all along."
What are the facts?: While Yechury was born into a Telugu speaking Brahmin family, he had clarified on multiple occasions that he was an atheist.
Yechury's family has donated his body to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for medical research, because of which it was embalmed.
How did we find that out?: On searching on YouTube, we found a video of Yechury's speech in the Rajya Sabha in 2017 that was uploaded on the official channel of The Print.
At around the 16:01 mark, Yechury said, "I am born in the Madras General Hospital, now called Chennai, the General hospital in Madras, to a Telugu speaking Brahmin family."
He added that his school education was in an Islamic culture that was prevalent in Hyderabad under the Nizam rule post-independence.
Yechury said that he is married to someone "whose father is a Sufi of the Islamic order, with the surname Chishti."
He then questioned what will his son be known as. Yechury said, "Is he a Brahmin, is he a Muslim, is he a Hindu, is he what? There is nothing that can describe my son rather than being an Indian."
Yechury was an atheist: Yechury, on his official X handle in 2017, had criticised a statement made by the then Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and made a passing mention that he was an atheist.
The post, uploaded on 22 April 2017 said, "Indians who are Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or Atheists (like me) are all Indian citizens. #NotCharity #Constitution."
Where is the image from?: The viral image, along with other visuals, were published on the X handle of JNUSU (Jawaharlal Nehru University Student's Union. The visuals showed students of JNU paying homage to the late leader.
It should be noted that Yechury had pursued his master's degree from the said university, which also kickstarted his political career.
As per recent reports, several national and political leaders had gathered at AKG Bhavan to pay their respects to Yechury.
It said that Yechury's embalmed body was then taken to JNU and later to Vasant Kunj. His remains were then to be handed over to AIIMS Delhi for medical research.
The CPI (M), too, mentioned in a press release that Yechury's body was going to be handed over to AIIMS Delhi.
No evidence of Christian traditions being followed: According to a news report published in The Hindu, the family of Yechury donated his body to AIIMS for medical research in accordance with his wishes.
It did not mention anything about funeral rituals as per Christian traditions being followed.
Conclusion: It is clear that the viral claim about Yechury being a Christian is false.
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