Ghandy was the political mentor of Maoists, says IB

The arrest of Kobad Ghandy, 63, has boosted the morale of security officers, said a senior Intelligence Bureau official while talking anonymously to rediff.com.

Ghandy, an underground Maoist ideologue, was arrested by the Delhi police on September 20.

According to a senior source in IB, "Kobad Ghandy, being a Politburo member, has been instrumental in shaping up the ideological and military course of action of the Communist Party of India - Maoist."

Notwithstanding Ghandy's claim that 'he is just a writer', the IB has enough evidence to prove that he was nothing less than the 'mastermind' of political and military tasks of the Maoists.

The IB dossier on Ghandy, a copy of which rediff.com has in its possession, claims that, "Ghandy has written the script of a recent Politburo document, outlining the political and military tasks of the outfit in the post-election scenario. The Politburo document titled 'Post-Election Situation - Our Tasks', dated June 12, 2009, has hailed the military action during the general elections, saying that a total of 112 police personnel, most of them from the central security forces, were wiped out in various actions carried out by the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) guerrillas.

Simultaneously, the document also mentioned the killing of innocent civilians -- saying there were some unfortunate incidents.  "The outfit realised that the serious mistakes committed by PLGA cadres due to which innocent lives were lost should be thoroughly reviewed," wrote Ghandy in the document.

The Politburo document clearly delineates future military strategy, where the CPI -Maoist has planned to prepare and mobilise the entire party, the PLGA and the people for carrying out tactical counter-offensives, various forms of armed resistance and inflict heavy casualties.

The IB dossier confirms the published facts about Ghandy, that his father is Adi Ghandy, a retired government employee from the Parsi community who is settled in Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra's Satara district and that his brother ran an ice cream shop in Mumbai.

In 1963, Ghandy completed his schooling from the prestigious Doon school in Dehradun, and in 1968, he completed his graduation from St Xaviers College in Mumbai. In 1972,  Ghandy finished his Chartered Accountancy course from London. He married Anuradha Shanbagh in 1979. She also served in the CPI - Maoist as a central committee member and died of cerebral malaria in April 2008.

When arrested, according to the IB dossier, Ghandy was a member of the central committee and the Politburo, looking after, "International Department, Sub-Committee on Mass Organisations (SUCOMO), Central Publishing Bureau and international co-coordinator for South West Regional Bureau (SWRB)."

During the Emergency, Ghandy participated in various agitations organised by the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, a pro-Naxal outfit. During the 1980s, he worked as a journalist for Hitavada newspaper in Nagpur, while his wife worked as lecturer in Sociology at the Nagpur University.

IB information claims that in the 1990s, Ghandy joined the People's War Group and worked in Maharashtra. In 1996 and 1998, he went to Belgium and Germany respectively, to present a paper.

In 2002, he was made the in-charge of the newly formed Communist Politburo (CPB). He also attended the international conference held in Katmandu in Nepal. In 2007, he was elevated as the Politburo member in 9 Unity congress of the CPI - Maoist. He was made in-charge of the newly formed International Department and was asked to continue as the head of CPB. In 2008, he was also asked to look after "SWRB and SUCOMO".

While talking about the after-affects of Gandhy's arrest, the IB alleges that the Maoist leader, while looking after the sub-committee on mass organisations of the CPI - Maoist, has successfully mobilised support in Delhi, leading to the formation of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) in April last year. 

The CRPP jumped into action following his arrest and issued a press release signed by its office bearers, Amit Bhattacharya, secretary general, SAR Gillani, vice president and Rona Wilson, secretary, Public Relations.

The CRPP has demanded that Ghandy be granted the status of a political prisoner.  It is also mobilising support in Delhi and elsewhere to provide assistance to Ghandy and secure his release.

The arrest of Ghandy, a Politburo member of the CPI - Maoist, is a major setback to the outfit.  Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji, who is actively organising the outfit's activities in Lalgarh, in an interview to the media, has said that the arrest was a blow to the outfit.

However, expressing the loss as temporary, Azad, another Politburo member and spokesperson of the CPI - Maoist, has downplayed the arrest, mainly to maintain the sagging morale of the cadres.