Che Posters, Bihar Villages and a Dramatic Turn: Rajiv Kumar's Untold Youth Story

Former NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar's little-known brush with Naxal ideology during his student years has been brought to light in a new book, tracing an extraordinary journey from youthful radicalism to becoming one of India's leading economists and policymakers.

According to "Rebel Bastar: History, Maoism and the Search for Answers in India's Heartland" by senior journalist and historian Shantanu Nandan Sharma, Kumar embraced the ideology while studying at St. Stephen's College in Delhi during the early 1970s. Inspired by influential seniors and professors, he adorned his hostel room with posters of Che Guevara and Ho Chi Minh, symbols of revolutionary politics that resonated with student activists of the era.

The book says Kumar later travelled to Lakshmipur village in Bihar as part of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) initiative. Young recruits were expected to understand rural poverty firsthand while preparing villagers for armed resistance against oppressive landlords. Living in thatched huts, surviving on simple meals and learning manual labour exposed him to the harsh realities of village life.

One episode describes villagers rejecting plans targeting a local landlord, suspecting the proposal was either unrealistic or a trap. Following the collapse of the mission and the arrest of key organisers, Kumar returned home in 1971 and gradually distanced himself from the movement.

He resumed his academic pursuits, earning advanced degrees in economics before completing a DPhil at Oxford University. His distinguished career later included roles in the Finance Ministry, the Asian Development Bank, FICCI, and finally as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog between 2017 and 2022.

Reflecting on that chapter, Kumar told PTI that present-day Naxalism has been among the "most pernicious and dishonest" influences on India's youth, arguing it hindered the country's political and economic progress. He welcomed its near elimination and stressed that the ideology itself should also be eradicated.