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| Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949) |
Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949), was an Indian from the city of Poona (now Pune) and the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. Along with his brother Gopal Godse and six other co-conspirators, he executed a plot to murder Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
Nathuram Godse was born in Baramati, Poona District into a Brahmin family. His father, Vinayak Vamanrao Godse, was a post office employee and his mother was Lakshmii (née Godavari). At birth, he was named Ramachandra.
A commonly held theory suggests that Nathuram was given his name because of an unfortunate incident. Before he was born, his parents had three sons and a daughter, with all three boys dying in their infancy. Fearing a curse that targeted male children, young Ramachandra was brought up as a girl for the first few years of his life, including having his nose pierced and being made to wear a nose-ring ("Nath" in Marathi). It was then that he earned the nickname "Nathuram" (literally "Ram with a nose-ring"). After his younger brother was born, they switched to treating him as a boy.
Nathuram Godse attended the local school at Baramati through the fifth standard, after which he was sent to live with an aunt in Poona (now Pune) so that he could study at an English-language school. During his school days, Gandhi was an idol to him.
In 1930, Nathuram's father was transferred to the town of Ratnagiri. While staying with his parents at Ratnagiri, the young Nathuram first met Veer Savarkar, a proponent of Hindutva.
Godse dropped out of high school and became an activist with the Hindu Mahasabha. He was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist. They were particularly opposed to the separatist politics of the All India Muslim League. Godse started a Marathi newspaper for Hindu Mahasabha called Agrani, which some years later was renamed Hindu Rashtra.
The Hindu Mahasabha had initially backed Gandhi's campaigns of civil disobedience against the British government.
Godse and his mentors later turned and rejected Gandhi, as they felt that Gandhi was sacrificing Hindu interests in an effort to appease Muslim interests. They blamed Gandhi for the Partition of India, which left hundreds of thousands of people dead in the wake of religious unrest.
Godse killed Gandhi on January 30, 1948, approaching him during the evening prayer and bowing respectfully. When a girl accompanying Gandhi said, "Brother, Bapu is already late..." and tried to palm off Godse, he pushed her aside and shot Gandhi three times at point-blank range with a .38 Beretta semi-automatic pistol.
Following the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi, he was put on trial beginning May 27, 1948. During the trial, he did not defend any charge and openly admitted that he killed Gandhi after a long disposition on his reasons for killing Gandhi.
On November 8, 1949, Godse was sentenced to death. Godse's legal team was savaged by critics for not introducing considerable evidence that their client was mentally unbalanced and/or manipulated by others. Among those calling for commutation of the death sentence for the defendants were Jawaharlal Nehru, as well as Gandhi's two sons, who felt that the two men on trial were pawns of RSS higher-ups, and in any case, executing their father's killers would dishonour his memory and legacy which included a staunch opposition to the death penalty. Godse was hanged at Ambala Gaol on November 15, 1949, along with Narayan Apte, the other conspirator. Savarkar was also charged with conspiracy in the assassination of Gandhi, but was acquitted and subsequently released.
Nathuram Godse was born in Baramati, Poona District into a Brahmin family. His father, Vinayak Vamanrao Godse, was a post office employee and his mother was Lakshmii (née Godavari). At birth, he was named Ramachandra.
A commonly held theory suggests that Nathuram was given his name because of an unfortunate incident. Before he was born, his parents had three sons and a daughter, with all three boys dying in their infancy. Fearing a curse that targeted male children, young Ramachandra was brought up as a girl for the first few years of his life, including having his nose pierced and being made to wear a nose-ring ("Nath" in Marathi). It was then that he earned the nickname "Nathuram" (literally "Ram with a nose-ring"). After his younger brother was born, they switched to treating him as a boy.
Nathuram Godse attended the local school at Baramati through the fifth standard, after which he was sent to live with an aunt in Poona (now Pune) so that he could study at an English-language school. During his school days, Gandhi was an idol to him.
In 1930, Nathuram's father was transferred to the town of Ratnagiri. While staying with his parents at Ratnagiri, the young Nathuram first met Veer Savarkar, a proponent of Hindutva.
Godse dropped out of high school and became an activist with the Hindu Mahasabha. He was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist. They were particularly opposed to the separatist politics of the All India Muslim League. Godse started a Marathi newspaper for Hindu Mahasabha called Agrani, which some years later was renamed Hindu Rashtra.
The Hindu Mahasabha had initially backed Gandhi's campaigns of civil disobedience against the British government.
Godse and his mentors later turned and rejected Gandhi, as they felt that Gandhi was sacrificing Hindu interests in an effort to appease Muslim interests. They blamed Gandhi for the Partition of India, which left hundreds of thousands of people dead in the wake of religious unrest.
Godse killed Gandhi on January 30, 1948, approaching him during the evening prayer and bowing respectfully. When a girl accompanying Gandhi said, "Brother, Bapu is already late..." and tried to palm off Godse, he pushed her aside and shot Gandhi three times at point-blank range with a .38 Beretta semi-automatic pistol.
Following the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi, he was put on trial beginning May 27, 1948. During the trial, he did not defend any charge and openly admitted that he killed Gandhi after a long disposition on his reasons for killing Gandhi.
On November 8, 1949, Godse was sentenced to death. Godse's legal team was savaged by critics for not introducing considerable evidence that their client was mentally unbalanced and/or manipulated by others. Among those calling for commutation of the death sentence for the defendants were Jawaharlal Nehru, as well as Gandhi's two sons, who felt that the two men on trial were pawns of RSS higher-ups, and in any case, executing their father's killers would dishonour his memory and legacy which included a staunch opposition to the death penalty. Godse was hanged at Ambala Gaol on November 15, 1949, along with Narayan Apte, the other conspirator. Savarkar was also charged with conspiracy in the assassination of Gandhi, but was acquitted and subsequently released.
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| Group photo of people accused in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. Standing, L to R: Shankar Kistaiya, Gopal Godse, Madanlal Pahwa, Digambar Badge (Approver). Seated, L to R: Narayan Apte, Vinayak D. Savarkar, Nathuram Godse, Vishnu Karkare |
The last wish of Nathuram Godse still remains unfulfilled. He wished that India and Pakistan should reunite and to have his ashes immersed in the Indus river—now in Pakistan—when it became part of India again.
Millions of Indians mourned Gandhi's assassination. Massive riots spread, especially across Maharashtra state. Numbers of people died, looted and displaced as a result of violence by angry Congress activists. The Hindu Mahasabha was vilified and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the RSS, was temporarily banned. However, investigators could find no evidence that the RSS bureaucracy had formally sponsored or even knew of Godse's plot. The RSS ban was lifted by Prime Minister Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1949.The RSS to this day denies any connection with Godse, and disputes the claim that he was a member.
After the assassination, many criticized the Indian government for not doing more to protect Gandhi who, earlier in the week, had been the target of a bomb plot by the same conspirators who later shot him. Of particular concern, was the fact that a Bombay detective had wired the names and descriptions of the assassins along with the fact that they were known to be in Delhi stalking Gandhi. On the other hand, Gandhi had repeatedly refused to cooperate with his own security and had resigned himself to a violent death which he accepted as an inevitable part of his destiny.
A film, Nine Hours to Rama, was made in 1963 and was based on the events leading up to the assassination, seen mainly from Godse's point of view. The film Hey Ram, made in 2000, also briefly touches upon events related to the assassination. The popular Marathi language play "Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy" (I am Nathuram Godse, Speaking) was also made from Godse's point of view.
After the assassination, many criticized the Indian government for not doing more to protect Gandhi who, earlier in the week, had been the target of a bomb plot by the same conspirators who later shot him. Of particular concern, was the fact that a Bombay detective had wired the names and descriptions of the assassins along with the fact that they were known to be in Delhi stalking Gandhi. On the other hand, Gandhi had repeatedly refused to cooperate with his own security and had resigned himself to a violent death which he accepted as an inevitable part of his destiny.
A film, Nine Hours to Rama, was made in 1963 and was based on the events leading up to the assassination, seen mainly from Godse's point of view. The film Hey Ram, made in 2000, also briefly touches upon events related to the assassination. The popular Marathi language play "Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy" (I am Nathuram Godse, Speaking) was also made from Godse's point of view.
src:wikipedia
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