Maoist party expels former central committee member

The Communist Party of India (Maoist) on Tuesday said it has expelled its former central committee and politburo member Kobad Ghandy from the outfit for abandoning the key principles of “Marxism-Leninism-Maoist thought” and adopting the bourgeois philosophy of “humanism and spiritualism.”

A book written by 70-year-old Ghandy – Fractured Freedom: A Prison Memoir — after his release from jail in 2019 clearly revealed that the Maoist ideologue had completely “given up his ideology and chosen an idealistic path”, Abhay, spokesperson of the banned outfit’s central committee, said in a statement.

Abhay’s statement also carried a profile on Ghandy. Born in a wealthy Parsi family in Mumbai in 1951, Ghady studied at the Doon School and graduated at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He later pursued chartered accountancy in London, where he was influenced by revolutionary ideology and returned to India without completing the course. He joined the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War and rose to become a member of its central committee in 1981. He played a key role in the formation of CPI (Maoist) with the merger of the People’s War and the Marxist Communist Centre in 2004, and continued to be its central committee member.

The Maoist party has been banned in India and designated as a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act since 2009.

Ghandy was looking after the international affairs of the Maoist outfit and held meetings with Nepalese Maoist leader Prachanda and others. He was inducted into the politburo and was entrusted with the responsibility of building up mass organisations, the statement further said.

His wife Anuradha was also a central committee member, and the couple worked in Maharasthra’s Gadchiroli area, where she died of cerebral malaria in 2008. Ghandy, who was facing various cases related to Maoist activities, including conspiring against the government, was arrested in Delhi in September 2009 and was jailed till 2019.

Explaining the reasons for Ghandy’s expulsion, the spokesperson said the ideologue, after his release from jail, had not “contacted the party” and had written the book, in “violation of the party constitution, democratic centralism and ideological principles”.

“Ghandy claimed that there is no happiness and freedom in practising Marxism which has failed in reaching its target. With this book, he is trying to inculcate pessimism in the revolutionary camp and false allegations against the Maoist party,” said Abhay, who uses only one name.

Ghandy had openly praised criminal gangs and jail authorities, Abhay said. He falsely alleged that the Maoists had close links with the mafia and often led them in jail, the spokesperson said.

Ghandy had never raised his voice in support of other prisoners when in jail, Abhay alleged. “Instead, he got favours from jail authorities. He is now alleging that the Maoist party doesn’t have the people’s support and the Maoist squads are nothing but roving rebels. This is nothing but singing the tune of the ruling class,” he said.