Prakash Karat Age, Wife, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Politician
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 10" (178 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Grey
Politics
Political Party	Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Political Journey	• Served as the Secretary of the Delhi State Committee of the CPI(M) (1982-1985) • Elected to the Central Committee of the CPI(M) (1985) • Became a member of 'Politburo' (1992) • General Secretary of the CPI(M) (2005-2015)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	7 February 1948 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2024)	76 Years
Birthplace	Letpandan, Burma (Now Myanmar)
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Palakkad, Kerala
School	Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chennai
College/University	• Madras Christian College, Chennai • The University of Edinburgh, UK • Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
Educational Qualification(s)	• B.A. in Economics from Madras Christian College • M.A. in Political Science from University of Edinburgh • MSc from University of Edinburgh • PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University
Caste	Nair
Controversy	Involvement in NewsClick Funding Scam In 2023, he was accused of being involved in a foreign funding scam with an independent media outlet named NewsClick funded by the American businessman Neville Roy Singham known for promoting Chinese propaganda. The Enforcement Directorate found out his email exchanges with Neville, where he talked about the government restricting investments and imports from China which will harm India. The ED also found that NewsClick recieved over Rs. 86 crore in foreign funds which were used to support various individuals and causes connected to left wing politics, including Prakash Karat. [1]The Telegraph
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	7 November 1975
Family
Wife/Spouse	Brinda Karat (Activist, Politician)
Parents	Father- Padmanabhan Nair (Clerk in the Burma Railways) Mother- Radhamma
Other Relatives	Sister-In-Law- Radhika Roy (Journalist)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Prakash Karat

• Prakash Karat belongs to a Maliyali Nair family in Kerala.

• He lived in Palakkad, Kerala, till age five and later moved with his family to Burma.

• After completing his schooling, he secured the first prize in an all-India essay competition on the topic of the Tokyo Olympics as a result in 1964, he was sent on a ten-day tour to the Tokyo Olympics.

• On the graduation day, he won the best all-around student prize at Madras Christian College in Chennai.

• He was encouraged by one of his professors Duncan B. Forrester and got a scholarship to study master’s in politics at the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

• Thereafter, he became an active member of student politics while studying at the University of Edinburgh.

• In 1970, he completed his thesis on Language and Politics in Modern India.

• After joining student politics at the University of Edinburgh, he was rusticated from the university for anti-apartheid protests. The rustication later was suspended due to his good behaviour.

• In 1971, he joined the CPI(M) Leader A.K. Gopalan as an aide and worked with him until 1973.

•  In 1973, he became one of the founders and President of the Student Federation of India (SFI) at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

• After that, he was elected as the third president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union.

• Some of the books that he has written are Language, Nationality and Politics in India (1973), A World to Win-Essays on the Communist Manifesto (1999), and Across Time and Continents: A Tribute to Victor Kieran (2003).

• He served as the Second president of the Student Federation of India from 1974 to 1979.

•  He worked underground during the Emergency of India from 1975 to 1977.

• Some of the associates who worked with him while he became the president of the Student Federation of India were N. Ram, Mythili Sivaraman, and P. Chidambaram.

• During the 1975-1977 Emergency of India, he was arrested twice and spent eight days in prison.

• In July 2008, he announced that CPI(M) would withdraw support from the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) over the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.

• As of 2024, he is an active senior member of the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India, which focuses on internal party affairs, strategy, and debates.

• In 2024,  he was appointed as the interim leader of the CPI(M) after the death of Sitaram Yechury.