Kanhaiya Kumar is an Indian politician and former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU). He came into the spotlight in 2016 after being criticized for raising anti-national slogans at an event at Jinan University. He was charged with sedition and conspiracy to commit a crime but was later released because there was no evidence against him.
Wiki/Biography
Kanhaiya Kumar was born on Tuesday, January 13, 1987 in Bihat village, Begusarai, Bihar (age 37 years; as of 2024). His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He completed his education from Madhya Vidyalaya, RKC High School and Ram Ratan Singh College, Bihar. Thereafter, he received a BA in Geography from Patna Business School, an MA in Sociology from Nalanda Open University, Patna, and a PhD in African Studies from Jawaharlal University, New Delhi.
Kanhaiya Kumar in college
During his school and college days, he was always a bright student and got good marks in his examinations. He once won the first place in Jinan University entrance examination. His teachers said he was always respectful and polite and had never behaved inappropriately. In 2016, when the JNU controversy arose, news channels aired a video of the incident. The video showed Kanhaiya Kumar shouting anti-national slogans along with other students and saying that the death penalty given to terrorist Afzal Guru was wrong. This created a lot of confusion and led to the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar and two other JNU students. This caused a lot of controversy. When the video was proven to have been doctored, several journalists and writers from around the world came out in support of Kanhaiya Kumar. They also spoke out against the Indian government; for he was arrested for sedition, the second person to be arrested for sedition after 1987.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′6″
Weight (approximately): 65kg
Eye color: black
Hair color: black
Kanhaiya Kumar
family
Kanhaiya Kumar belongs to an upper caste family from the Bumihar community. His father Jaishankar Singh, a farmer, died on November 4, 2016. His mother Meena Devi is an Anganwadi worker; his father Jaishankar Singh is a farmer. She hosted a lunch service with Kanhaiya’s sister Juhi to support Kanhaiya’s campaign. Kanhaiya has 2 brothers, Manikant Singh; a factory supervisor in Assam and Prince Kumar; a student.
Kanhaiya Kumar and his father Jaishankar Singh
Kanhaiya Kumar and his mother Meena Devi
Kanhaiya Kumar’s sister Juhi
Kanhaiya Kumar’s brother Manikant Singh
Kanhaiya Kumar’s brother Prince Kumar
Profession
Kanhaiya joined the All India Students Federation (AISF) in 2004. In 2011, after he was admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), he became involved in university politics. In September 2015, he became the first AISF member and was elected president of the Jinan University Student Union. He rose to prominence due to the JNU controversy and many journalists and politicians said he would actively enter politics; he was encouraged and supported around the world for speaking out against the government. Kanhaiya was released from jail; no evidence was found against him and the video circulating in the news was found to have been doctored. It later emerged that it was some outsiders who raised the anti-national slogans and not Kanhaiya Kumar or the students of Jinan University.
Kanhaiya Kumar at Jinan University
On April 29, 2018, he was elected as a member of the 125-member National Council of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He got a ticket to contest the 2019 general elections from Begusarai constituency in Bihar. However, he lost to Giriraj Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party by a margin of 4.22 lakh votes.
Kanhaiya Kumar addresses CPI rally
On September 28, 2021, he attended the Indian National Congress meeting in Delhi in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
Kanhaiya Kumar (second from left) after attending the Indian National Congress party in New Delhi on September 28, 2021
He contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Delhi’s Northeast constituency and lost to the BJP’s Manoj Tiwari by 1,38,778 votes.
dispute
- On February 12, 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested along with 2 other students on charges of sedition (IPC 124-A) and criminal conspiracy (IPC 120-B). A video has surfaced on national news channels of Kanhaiya Kumar and other Jinan University students raising anti-national slogans at an event on the Jinan University campus. This led to their arrest. The video also shows them opposing the government’s decision to sentence terrorist Afzal Guru to death.
- On February 15, 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar was taken by the police to Patiala House Court for hearing; he was abused and beaten by a group of lawyers inside the court. Initially, the attack was thought to be random, but later during a sting operation it was revealed that it was a well-planned attack. The lawyers reportedly wanted to teach Kanhaiya Kumar a lesson and planned another attack.
- After Kanhaiya Kumar was released from prison, he received multiple death threats from lawyers and politicians. Kanhaiya Kumar reported all these threats to the police.
- On March 10, 2016, Kanhaiya was beaten up by a man from Ghaziabad who accused him of being a traitor. When asked, the man said he would beat him again if given the chance. The person was arrested.
- On March 15, 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar held a protest outside Parliament, demanding the release of two Jinan University students who were arrested with him. During the protest, four different people attempted to attack Kanhaiya. Police intervened and arrested everyone.
fact
- Kanhiaya has always been interested in theater and is a member of the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA). It is the oldest association of theater artistes in India.
Kanhaiya Kumar delivers a speech at IPTA
- He is said to be a very calm and peaceful man. When he was arrested, his childhood friend Shahnawaz said: “He is politically sound and his advantage in all this is that he knows he has done nothing wrong”.
Kanhaiya Kumar’s childhood friend Shahnawaz
- After Kanhaiya was arrested, his parents said, “Kanhaiya can never disrespect his country by shouting anti-national slogans, forget the country, he has never disrespected us in his life.”
- His father has been paralyzed for many years and is bedridden. He died in November 2016, months after his arrest.
Kanhaiya Kumar with his father before his death
- His mother is an Anganwadi worker and earns INR 3,000 per month. To support Kanhaiya’s campaign, she hosted a lunch service with Kanhaiya’s sister Juhi.
Kanhaiya Kumar’s mother Meena Devi works in Anganwadi
- On March 3, 2016, Kanhaiya delivered a speech to Jinan University students after being released from prison. The students welcomed him warmly and assured him of their support in his future endeavours. Kanhaiya clarified that he wanted freedom within India; and not from India, as the media and the Indian government portrayed him to be.
Kanhaiya Kumar addresses Jinan University students after being released from prison
- After Kanhaiya was arrested, Jinan University alumni from all over the world condemned the Indian government for arresting Kanhaiya, believing that the excessive actions taken by the police in this case were unnecessary and unreasonable.
- More than 130 renowned scholars from around the world said in a joint statement:
The Jinan University incident is “a shameful act by the Indian government to invoke the colonial-era sedition law to suppress criticism.” We criticize the authoritarian threat culture generated by the current government in India.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education