Marxist’s mini memoir

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his class at the prestigious Doon School, Marxist ideologue Kobad Ghandy, lodged in Tihar Jail since 2009, sent the following message to his former school fellows:
"First, allow me to send my best wishes to all fellow classmates. I would have loved to be present in person on this important occasion, but unfortunately I will not be able to make it.
"Half a century is indeed a long time and much water has flowed down the river of life since I left school. Through much of these years the bridge across this river was shattered when I chose the nether world, so alien to that which I came from, including Doon. Ironically, in a way, my arrest helped restore this rickety bridge, to some extent — mostly thanks to the efforts of my long lost friend, Gautam Vohra. This has been a boon and I hope to meet with you all sometime in the future.
"Well, after leaving school I spent an uneventful four years to pass my BSc (Chemistry) from St Xavier’s College, Bombay. Besides acquiring a good academic record nothing of note happened that I can recall. Then in 1968 I was off to the UK to study to become a Chartered Accountant (CA). It was at this stage that I was awakened both socially and politically.
"While working in the day time for an auditing firm, studying the correspondence course in the evenings, and doing a part-time job at Selfridges during weekends, I began noticing the discrimination against Indians. Having come from a sheltered background this made me think.
"Initially I turned to (Mahatma) Gandhi for answers. But as my search continued I came across many a leftist and R. P. Datt’s India Today. It was this book that turned me towards Marxism, as it gave me a better insight into the role of British colonialism and the freedom struggle. It was then that I began reading voraciously on Indian history and the Marxist classics.
"I continued my studies and passed the intermediate CA exam getting surprisingly high marks. The audit firm was happy with my performance, but was unaware of my other interests. In 1971 I decided that CA was not my calling and I needed to get back and serve my country and its people. After this decision my study of society became even more intense and now included Naxalite literature which was a rage among radical Indian youth in those days.
"I returned to India in May 1972. Since then I have in some way or another been associated with the Naxalite movement as also Left/radical organizations in Europe. While doing so I have been active in trade unions, bastis (shanty towns), civil liberty organizations, dalits and tribals in Maharashtra.

"Through these years I also continued regular writing in magazines and newspapers such as Frontier, Blitz, EPW, People’s March, Hitvada (Nagpur). I wrote mostly on issues concerning the Indian and world economy as also the caste system. In 2004 my book on the ills of the Indian economy was published. It was entitled Globalization: Attack on India’s Sovereignty. On the eve of my arrest in 2009 my study on the international economic crisis of 2008 was published; it was entitled Capitalism in Coma.
"Finally, this account would not be complete without a brief mention of the most important person in my life — my late wife Anuradha. We met on my return from London when she was a student leader at Elphinstone College. We married in 1977. As a professor of Sociology in Bombay and then Nagpur Universities, she was not only an academic of renown but also a revolutionary of great commitment. At the young age of 54, her life was suddenly snatched away (in 2008) due to an attack of malaria. Her extensive writings were posthumously published and released two years ago at a function presided over by the Delhi High Court ex-chief justice, A. P. Shah. Since her death, every year a memorial meeting is held in Bombay and addressed by internationally renowned academics. She was not only my partner but closest friend, comrade and idol.”
Reacting to the "absorbing and illuminating account of Kobad’s life since school” Ghandy’s classmate Vijay Singal wrote in an email to his school friends: "I had very little idea how daring, intellectually rich, and controversial his last 40 years have been.” Singal also mentioned: "With regard to (author) Amitava Bose’s comment that it ‘should shake us up,’ I am happy to add that Kobad’s doings already have shaken up many a Dosco (Doon School student) in high places” and resulted in "a brainstorming of sorts on our School’s purpose, direction, its role in modern Indian society...”
The authorities reportedly have still to frame charges against Ghandy.