Lucknow: Renowned Hindi critic Virendra Yadav (76), long associated with the Progressive Writers’ Association, passed away following a cardiac arrest at his residence in Indiranagar on Friday.Born in 1950 in Jaunpur district, Yadav earned MA in political science from Lucknow University. Since his student years, he remained actively engaged in left-wing intellectual and cultural movements.
He served as secretary of the Progressive Writers’ Association for many years and edited the magazine ‘Prayojan’.He was known for his incisive writings on Premchand-related debates and the discourse on the Uprising of 1857.Several of his articles were also translated into English and Urdu. In recognition of his contribution to criticism, he received the Devishankar Awasthi Award in 2001. He is survived by his wife Kusum Yadav, son Navengit, daughter Priyanka, and daughter-in-law Shruti.Expressing grief, Purushottam Agrawal, a former member of the Union Public Service Commission Board and former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: “With Virendra Yadav’s demise, we have lost an important voice in the Hindi literary world, particularly in the sphere of fiction. He was a pillar of the progressive writers’ movement, and his commitment to democratic values, a progressive worldview, and an inclusive idea of India was unwavering.“He said Yadav was not only a literary critic but also a public intellectual and social activist, always at the forefront of popular struggles against sectarian and communal tendencies. “His demise is a personal loss for me, as his agreements were always a source of pleasure for me, and his disagreements were an intellectual challenge which I enjoyed. We had a great connection and met for the first time in 1986, and since then we had a relationship with mutual respect and dialogue,” he said.Yadav’s friend and former head of Lucknow University’s anthropology department, Prof Nadeem Hasnain, said: “It was a friendship of more than 50 years, from our university days. Though academically we moved in different directions, we always kept each other posted on whatever we were writing and publishing. With his sudden demise, we have not only lost an eminent literary personality but also a committed and uncompromising secularist and Marxist thinker.““Our ideological affinities and intimate friendship kept us glued to each other. I would miss him every day. ‘Rehne ko sada dahr me aata nahi koi; Tum jaise gaye waise bhi jaata nahi koi’.Former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University, Prof Roop Rekha Verma, said, “The sudden departure of an eminent literary critic and social commentator, Virendra Yadav, leaves a great vacuum in the intellectual as well as social plane of the nation. His intense advocacy for a world of equal rights, plurality, and human empathy, and his unequivocal criticism of vague and confusing stands on social structure, made an indelible mark on the literary world.“Renowned Hindi poet, critic, essayist, and former civil servant Ashok Vajpeyi said, “We have lost a writer of insight and deep commitment. He was sharp and candid. Many a time he was alone in his dissidence but had the courage of conviction. He was widely respected for his rigour and understanding of, and devotion to, literature as social reality and force. He would be widely missed by the literary community.”Provincial general secretary of Progressive Writers Association, UP, Sanjay Srivastava said, “His absence will always be felt in the world of literature.” Shahzad Rizvi, provincial general secretary of Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) UP said that “his books will continue to guide us and the ideology of debate and dialogue must be carried forward following the unique tradition of dialogue he established.”
