Kanhaiya Kumar
Kanhaiya Kumar is an Indian politician who was a former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union, was a National leader of the All India Students Federation and presently, the National Executive Council member of Communist Party of India He holds a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Born: 2 January 1987 (age 33 years), Begusarai
Party: Communist Party of India
Books: From Bihar To Tihar
Education: Jawaharlal Nehru University (2011–2019), College of Commerce, Arts and Science, more
Parents: Jaishankar Singh, Meena Devi
Siblings: Prince Kumar, Manikant Singh
Kanhaiya Kumar was born in January 1987, and brought up in the village of Bihat (near Barauni) in Begusarai district, Bihar. His family belongs to Bihar's Bhumihar community. The village is part of the Teghra (Vidhan Sabha constituency), known to be a stronghold of the CPI. Kumar's father is Jaishankar Singh. His mother, Meena Devi, is an Anganwadi worker. He has an elder brother, Manikant, who works as a supervisor with a company in Assam. His family members have traditionally been supporters of the CPI.
Kanhaiya Kumar studied till Class VI at Madhya Vidyalaya, Masnadpur, before joining R. K. C. High School in Barauni. During his school days, Kumar took part in several plays and activities organized by IPTA (Indian People's Theatre Association), a left-leaning cultural group going back to the days of India's freedom struggle. He cleared his Class X board exams in 2002 with a first division. After school, Kumar joined the Ram Ratan Singh College at Mokama, taking up science in Class XI-XII. He then graduated with a degree in geography from the College of Commerce, Arts and Science, Patna in 2007, earning a "first-class".
While at the Patna College of Commerce, Kumar began getting involved in student politics. He joined the AISF, and a year later was selected as a delegate at its conference in Patna. After completing his post graduation with an MA in sociology from Nalanda Open University in Patna, again securing a first class, he moved to Delhi and after ranking first in the entrance exam in 2011, joined Jawaharlal Nehru University where he pursued a PhD in African studies at the School of International Studies. He completed his PhD in February 2019, titled The Process of Decolonisation and Social Transformation in South Africa, 1994-2015.
In September 2015, Kumar became president of the JNU students' union, representing the AISF.
In March 2016, Kumar stated in an interview, "the first inspiration who made me want to join politics was Bhagat Singh. Then the path continued into Ambedkar, Gandhi and Marx, and also to Birsa Munda and Jyotirao Phule...."
Kumar's autobiography, Bihar to Tihar: My Political Journey was published in October 2016. The book his life from his childhood days to his political involvement in Delhi.
On 29 April 2018, he was elected to the party national council of the Communist Party of India (CPI). Later in 2019, he was inducted into CPI national executive council.
Kumar contested from Begusarai on Communist Party of India's ticket for the 2019 Indian general election. He lost the election, polling a total of 269,976 votes and 22.03% of vote share. He secured a distant second position after losing to Giriraj Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party by 422,217 votes. About his defeat, he told Aaj Tak in an interview, "I didn't have anything directly to lose in these elections. I got support from the people for fighting against a big, rich and influential machinery and this is a message from democracy that a son of an Anganwadi worker can contest elections."
• Books
Bihar To Tihar: My Political Journey
• Papers
The Process of De-colonisation and Social Transformation in South Africa, 1994-2015
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