This trust was constituted in memory of Ashish Yechury (Biku), whose life was cruelly cut short at the age of 34 by the second lethal wave of the Covid 19 pandemic. His death on 22nd April, 2021 - within two weeks of having contracted the virus played the role of a harbinger of the hundreds of thousands of deaths that quickly followed, and the shocked and distressed collective realization that the young, who were still not being vaccinated at the time, also needed protection.
Ashish’s death came on the news within hours of his passing and a certain space was given to obituary articles by his colleagues in journalism. (link). Although the son of a public figure, Biku himself was not one of the public sphere and remained a private person throughout his life. And as a private yet sociable individual, there was much that he faced that was especially difficult and demeaning. Little of his innate qualities or creative talents were recognized or appreciated in his lifetime. In fact, Ashish’ short life epitomised a continual struggle with humiliation and the iniquitous practices that so many young people are subjected to as they traverse through our schools, colleges, universities, and employment. He soldiered on and overcame much, but the stigma that surrounded those who contracted Covid during that fearful and fateful period, subjected him to yet more humiliation in his final suffering and death.
And so, some of us, who loved Biku - who knew well the many travails that marked his journey from childhood to maturity and beyond – who were left with the pain of being unable to save him from the cruelties of nature and society in life and even in death - felt compelled to commemorate his essence and what it represented or could mean for other young people who face similar situations in the present day normative structures and institutions of education, employment, and custom.
The Ashish Yechury Memorial Trust thus aims to institute a fellowship programme towards providing opportunities for young men and women, whose individual talents and potential face special obstacles and difficulties in the existing educational and employment structures. The fellowship is to be directed at supporting the vocational inclination of at least one young person per year. Its objective is to facilitate development of individual learning, acquisition and practice of skills that can enable the undertaking of creative work and activities of personal choice. In other words, the fellowship is an endeavour from outside any particular institution, towards allowing exploration of pathways that may otherwise be hindered/prevented by the normative pressures and compulsions that young people often face when trying to negotiate their life’s creative inclinations and choices.
In this endeavour, the trust is committed to remaining true to the personhood of Biku, and to the compass of ideas, interests and beliefs that were dear to him.
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