Rajmohan Gandhi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gandhi in 1960 | |
| Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha[1] | |
| In office 1990-92 | |
| Constituency | Uttar Pradesh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1935-08-07)7 August 1935 (age 90)[2] |
| Party | Aam Aadmi Party |
| Other political affiliations | Janata Dal |
| Spouse | Usha Gandhi |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Ramchandra Gandhi (brother) Gopalkrishna Gandhi (brother) Mahatma Gandhi (paternal grandfather) Kasturba Gandhi (paternal grandmother) C. Rajagopalachari (maternal grandfather) |
| Occupation | Biographer, journalist, politician |
| Awards | International Humanitarian Award (human rights) |
| Website | Official website |
Rajmohan Gandhi (born 7 August 1935)[2] is an Indian biographer, historian, politician and research professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US. His paternal grandfather isMahatma Gandhi, and his maternal grandfather isChakravarthi Rajagopalachari. He is also a scholar in residence at theIndian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar.
In 1989, he joinedJanata Dal and unsuccessfully contestedLok Sabha elections againstRajiv Gandhi.[3] In 2014, he joined theAam Aadmi Party.[4] He again ran for the Lok Sabha from theEast Delhi constituency but lost.[5]
Rajmohan Gandhi was born 7 August 1935 inNew Delhi, toDevdas and Lakshmi Gandhi. His father was the managing editor of theHindustan Times. Rajmohan Gandhi attendedSt. Stephen's College. His maternal grandfather wasC. Rajagopalachari, the lastGovernor General of India (succeedingLord Louis Mountbatten), who was one of the foremost associates of Mahatma Gandhi.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Gandhi played a leading role in establishing Asia Plateau, the conference centre of Initiatives of Change inPanchgani, in the mountains of western India.[6]
In 2002, Gandhi received theSahitya Akademi Award forRajaji: A Life, a Biography ofChakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878–1972), about his maternal grandfather, a leading figure in India's independence movement.[7]
His other works includeGhaffar Khan: Nonviolent Badshah of thePakhtuns (Penguin 2004);Revenge & Reconciliation: Understanding South Asian History (Penguin, 1999);Patel: A Life, a Biography ofVallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950), Deputy Prime Minister of India, 1947-50 (Navajivan, Ahmedabad, 1990); andEight Lives: A Study of the Hindu-Muslim Encounter (SUNY, 1987). One of his earlier books,The Good Boatman: A Portrait of Gandhi, was published in 2009 in a Chinese translation inBeijing. Most recently, Gandhi has published a book titled,Punjab (Aleph Book Company 2013), which is a historical account of undividedPunjab, from the death ofAurangzeb to thePartition.[8]
Before teaching at theUniversity of Illinois, he served as aresearch professor with theNew Delhithink-tank,Centre for Policy Research. From 1985 to 1987, he edited the dailyIndian Express inMadras (nowChennai). In 2004 he received the International Humanitarian Award (Human Rights) from the city ofChampaign, Illinois, and in 1997, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of law from theUniversity of Calgary, and an honorary doctorate of philosophy fromObirin University, Tokyo. He currently serves as a Jury Member for theNuremberg International Human Rights Award and co-chair of the Centre for Dialogue & Reconciliation inGurgaon.[7] In 2019 he was a contributor toA New Divan: A Lyrical Dialogue Between East and West (Gingko Library).
In 2018, he opposed thepartition of the British India at theOxford Union and said, “To welcome Partition is to imply that people with different backgrounds and different blood-lines cannot live together in one nation. A regressive suggestion.”[9] He opined that "The corollary that those possessing a common religion or common race enjoy blissful companionship in their homes, nations or regions is, well, hilarious."[10] He holds that "tyranny was multiplied by partition".[9] Gandhi further believes that "India belongs to all who live in it."[11]
In 1989, Gandhi unsuccessfully contested theLok Sabha election fromJanata Dal againstRajiv Gandhi inAmethi.[3] He served (1990–92) in theRajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) and led the Indian delegation to theUN Human Rights Commission in Geneva in 1990. In the Indian Parliament he was the convener of the all-party joint committee of both houses addressing the condition of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
On 21 February 2014, he joined theAam Aadmi Party.[4] He contested the 2014 general election from theEast Delhi constituency and lost.[12][5]
Rajmohan Gandhi is married to Usha. They have two children.[13]
He went on to say, 'To welcome Partition is to imply that people with different backgrounds and different blood-lines cannot live together in one nation. A regressive suggestion.' He lamented that the 'Muslim majorities who got Pakistan did not need it; Muslim minorities remaining in India who needed security became more insecure.' 'If tyranny had ended with partition, I would have welcomed division. In fact, however, tyranny was multiplied by partition.'
| National posts |
|
|---|---|
| Political Affairs Committee | |
| National Executive Committee |
|
| Spokespersons |
|
| State wings | |
| Chief ministers |
|
| Current members of Parliament | |
| Political wings | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
.svg){kind=logo}
