Post-independence and Cold War Contemporary history Anuradha Ghandy (28 March 1954 – 12 April 2008) was an Indian communist, writer, and revolutionary leader.

[2] In her obituary for Anuradha, with whom she was friends from the days when the latter was still a college student in the 1970s,[3] Jyoti Punwani wrote: "'The Naxalite menace', says Manmohan Singh, 'is the biggest threat to the country'.

Anuradha was born to an older generation of communists, Ganesh and Kumud Shanbag,[2][4] who were married in the CPI office in Mumbai.

Anuradha's brother, Sunil Shanbag, is a progressive Mumbai-based playwright, writing left-wing revolutionary plays.

The children were exposed to varied views and ideas and were motivated to read a lot and develop their own interests such as classical dancing and theatre.

The prime period for the communist propaganda in India was the 1970s, with the Cultural Revolution in China, opposition to the Vietnam War in the US, and many other social changes.

What she saw in the refugee camps in war-hit Bangladesh and also the famine-hit areas of Maharashtra prior to that were the prime motives of her commitment to social work.