The use of weapons to bring about social change was something I did not agree with. I viewed Mahatma Gandhi as my hero. Despite all his flaws, I liked the philosophy of ahimsa. His emphasis on spirituality over religion attracted me.

But despite all this, I have always believed Lenin to be one of the three most influential leaders of the last century. I am also aware of the fact that after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the dissolution of communist governments in countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania, there too Lenin’s statues were subjected to similar indignities.