Rajmohan Gandhi Biography

About Rajmohan Gandhi

Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, is a literary scholar. He is known as one of the strongest critics of the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has always been vocal about the alleged Gujarat riots of 2002, when Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Early Life of Rajmohan Gandhi

Born in 1935, Rajmohan is a descendant of Mahatma Gandhi. His father’s name was Devdas Gandhi (Mahatma’s youngest son), who was a renowned journalist in his time and Daily Hindustan Times’ Managing Editor. Rajmohan’s mother Laxmi Gandhi was daughter of C. Rajagopalachari (close associate of Mahatma and first Indian Governor General of the country). His other siblings are Tara Gandhi Bhattacharya, Ramchandra Gandhi, and Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Rajmohan Gandhi got married to Usha and the couple is blessed with children Devdatta and Supriya. He attended New Delhi’s St. Stephen's College and then went on to pursue his higher studies abroad.

He is a Research Professor at the the Centre for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies of University of Illinois, USA. Some of his noted literary works are ‘A Tale of Two Revolts’, ‘Rajaji: A Life’, ‘Patel: A Life’, ‘Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, His People and an Empire’, ‘Eight Lives: A Study of the Hindu-Muslim Encounter’, ‘Revenge & Reconciliation: Understanding South Asian History’, ‘Ghaffar Khan: Nonviolent Badshah of the Pakhtuns’, and many more.

Political Career of Rajmohan Gandhi

Rajmohan Gandhi has politics and social activism in his blood because of his enviable ancestry. He was always involved in activism and perhaps his first direct social activism started in the year 1956 when he got associated with Initiatives of Change that strives to fight against inequality, corruption, democratic rights, and trust building. From 1960s to 1970s Rajmohan was actively involved in the establishment of Asia Plateau in western India. His belief in democratic processes was put to test during Emergency in India from 1975 to 1977. He opposed the semi-fascist regime and raised his voice through ‘Himmat’, his weekly journal.

Rajmohan Gandhi first entered active politics when he contested against Rajiv Gandhi during General Parliamentary election of 1989 from Congress bastion Amethi. However, he lost the election. He then became Rajya Sabha member in 1990 and in the same year visited Geneva, leading the Indian delegation to attend UN Human Rights Commission. He remained Rajya Sabha member till 1992. During his tenure in the RS, Rajmohan became convenor of all-party joint committee, which addressed condition of SCs and STs in the country.

He felt the need to join a political party this year for contributing to the society and formally joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on February 21, 2014. Rajmohan contested the Lok Sabha election of 2014 from East Delhi seat on AAP ticket but this time too it was a failed attempt. The AAP may field him as its candidate in the upcoming Delhi Assembly election during January-February 2015. However, he hasn't confirmed about his availability.
WBDB29.11.2014