Events & Personalities
“A media trial”
"A media trial”
"One does not know the veracity of these statements… Such accusations are what the police and mainstream media had been continuously making throughout the 10 years of (my) incarceration,” noted Marxist ideologue Kobad Ghandy (pictured). He was responding to Parsiana’s request for his comments on news reports that he had been expelled from the banned Communist Party
of India (Maoist) [CPI(M)]. The Party has alleged that Ghandy served both as a politburo member and a member of the Party’s central committee. Ghandy denies the accusation. He says his imprisonment followed "a veritable media trial. Yet I was acquitted of being member of an unlawful party not just in one state but four. Does one believe the courts of our country or the mainstream media which is notorious for fake news?” For his struggle to assist the disadvantaged, Ghandy was jailed as an undertrial for 10 years and secured bail in 2019 (see "Opposing the oppressors,” Parsiana, August 7-20, 2021).
News reports in the first week of December stated that the Party had expelled Ghandy for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities and abandoning the Maoist ideology. This was announced reportedly through a letter dated November 27, 2021 by a spokesperson named Abhay (no last name given). The Party has accused the 74-year-old of "projecting the movement in bad light in his book Fractured Freedom – A Prison Memoir, written after his release from prison, stated The Hindu (TH) of December 1. Abhay pointed out that Ghandy was wrong in saying that the movement has failed in reaching its target and there is no happiness and freedom in the Marxist way of life, noted TH.
According to a report in The Indian Express (IE) of December 2, Ghandy stated: "I strongly stand by what I wrote (in the book). And I will continue to raise these questions. If I am wrong, they should tell me why the communist movement around the world is collapsing, why they are sticking to the same dogmatic approach.” The CPI(M) statement accused Ghandy "of not contacting the party” after his release from jail in 2019 "nor discussing with us about the content of the book and intentions of writing a book. This by itself violates the principles of the party. And it is wrong on his part to level allegations against the party, after (allegedly) being part of it for over 40 years,” explained Abhay.
"Where would I find them? In the bushes? No one met me while I was in jail,” Ghandy’s retort was quoted by IE. F. J.
"One does not know the veracity of these statements… Such accusations are what the police and mainstream media had been continuously making throughout the 10 years of (my) incarceration,” noted Marxist ideologue Kobad Ghandy (pictured). He was responding to Parsiana’s request for his comments on news reports that he had been expelled from the banned Communist Party
of India (Maoist) [CPI(M)]. The Party has alleged that Ghandy served both as a politburo member and a member of the Party’s central committee. Ghandy denies the accusation. He says his imprisonment followed "a veritable media trial. Yet I was acquitted of being member of an unlawful party not just in one state but four. Does one believe the courts of our country or the mainstream media which is notorious for fake news?” For his struggle to assist the disadvantaged, Ghandy was jailed as an undertrial for 10 years and secured bail in 2019 (see "Opposing the oppressors,” Parsiana, August 7-20, 2021).News reports in the first week of December stated that the Party had expelled Ghandy for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities and abandoning the Maoist ideology. This was announced reportedly through a letter dated November 27, 2021 by a spokesperson named Abhay (no last name given). The Party has accused the 74-year-old of "projecting the movement in bad light in his book Fractured Freedom – A Prison Memoir, written after his release from prison, stated The Hindu (TH) of December 1. Abhay pointed out that Ghandy was wrong in saying that the movement has failed in reaching its target and there is no happiness and freedom in the Marxist way of life, noted TH.
According to a report in The Indian Express (IE) of December 2, Ghandy stated: "I strongly stand by what I wrote (in the book). And I will continue to raise these questions. If I am wrong, they should tell me why the communist movement around the world is collapsing, why they are sticking to the same dogmatic approach.” The CPI(M) statement accused Ghandy "of not contacting the party” after his release from jail in 2019 "nor discussing with us about the content of the book and intentions of writing a book. This by itself violates the principles of the party. And it is wrong on his part to level allegations against the party, after (allegedly) being part of it for over 40 years,” explained Abhay.
"Where would I find them? In the bushes? No one met me while I was in jail,” Ghandy’s retort was quoted by IE. F. J.
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