Kobad Ghandy Arrested in Delhi, Maiost Kobad Ghandy Profile

Kobad Ghandy was an unlikely rebel — from an affluent Parsi family, alumnus of Doon School and St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and trained in accountancy in England. Kobad Ghandy, 58, could well have been on boards of several companies. However, he went on to become one of the top Naxalite leaders in the country and a politburo member of the banned CPI(Maoist).

Ghandy, who was arrested from Bhikaji Cama Place in south Delhi on Sunday, was among the young urban elite enticed by the romance of classless society and fled his giltedged life to join the radical Naxal movement in the late 1960s and 70s. However, unlike most others who ended their dalliance with Naxalism quickly, Ghandy remained committed to the ‘cause’.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Ghandy’s father was managing director in a multinational company. His brother had an ice-cream factory and Ghandy used to help him in the business. Although not many Mumbai Parsis have heard about him, one old-timer from the community, who vaguely remembers the family, spoke of an incident during Ghandy’s growing up years in a sprawling family bungalow in Worli Sea Face.

It so happened that one day, an expensive gold watch was missing at the Ghandys’. When they asked young Kobad about it, he casually said he had given it away to a servant. Ghandy became one of the leading figures in the city’s radical Left movement during the mid-70s and in the post-emergency years.

From Riches To Reds 

Kobad Ghandy, 58, joined the Naxals in the 1970s & rose to become a CPI (Maoist) politburo member, 1 of just 13. Worked to spread Maoist influence in urban areas).

Ghandy’s father was MD of an MNC. Brother owned an ice-cream factory. Family home at Worli Sea Face famed for antique furniture Studied at Doon School and Xavier’s, Mumbai. Did CA course in London.

In 1977, married Anuradha, a student of Elphinstone, whose family owned a coffee estate in Coorg.

Couple went underground years ago; didn’t have children. Anuradha died of cerebral malaria last year

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