"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
On this day, seventy-two years ago, at around quarter past five in the evening, Nathuram Godse, shot Mohandas Gandhi, called the Mahatma, to death. As Gandhi walked to his daily prayer meeting, Godse accosted him on the way and pumped three bullets into the man known as the Father of the Indian Nation. Reports vary on what happened immediately after; some say that he was caught and wrestled to the ground before being taken away, others say that he voluntarily courted arrest. In any event, he was caught and taken away to be tried. Ten days earlier, a small bomb had exploded near that very site at another prayer meeting. One young man was arrested. That young man, by the name of Digambar Badge, turned state witness in the case and revealed that there was a conspiracy to kill Gandhi. There were a total of nine alleged conspirators who were arrested including Nathuram Godse, his brother Gopal Godse, his close associate Narayan Apte and the Hindu Mahasabha leader, Vinayak Savarkar. The trials went on for eight months in the lower court after which the conspirators were indicted. They appealed to the High Court and again the hearings went on for six months. Finally, Godse and Apte were sentenced to be hanged, all the other conspirators named, except Savarkar, were sentenced to prison sentences. Godse and Apte were hanged on November 15, 1949.
Godse's final submission to the court, a long speech was immediately banned by the ruling government of the day run by the Indian National Congress, the party to which Gandhi belonged to. In the wake of Gandhi's assassination, the Congress consolidated on the immediate sympathy of the nation towards Gandhi as well as the party. Jawaharlal Nehru, already seen to be Gandhi's political heir became the most popular leader of the country. The Hindu Mahasabha, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were repressed, for their links to Godse. The Congress would rule the country for the next thirty years. In 1967, Nathuram Godse's brother, Gopal published a book containing his final speech. Again, the book was banned. It was published only in 1977, when the Congress finally lost power. The same text was republished in 1993 named 'Why I Assassinated Mahatma Gandhi?'. Since then, the right wing writer, Dr. Koenraad Elst has written another compelling book on Godse's speech and the case against the conspirators.
After years of distancing itself from Godse and Savarkar, the Hindu right-wing have been attempting to re-build their links since around 2003. In recent times, this has strengthened with several members of the ruling party suggesting that Savarkar be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. Other members have called Godse a patriot, leading to rebuke and anger from the civility as well as their political opponents. This has become another in a long list of issues that continue to sharply polarize the country.
So, can we call Godse, a patriot? Or Savarkar? Difficult questions, these, and there are no simple answers. Godse's speech defending his actions is compelling. Reading through it, you can feel the pain, the frustration and the anger of the man, at what he sees as the destruction of his homeland. He even takes the entire blame upon himself asking that the other accused be released. Honorable action, that. Savarkar's is a more complicated matter. He was a fiery patriot and nationalist, who was imprisoned in Andaman's infamous Cellular Jail. He appealed to the British were pardon, causing claims of cowardice to be stuck to his name since. In the trial for Gandhi's murder, no evidence could be found linking him to the conspiracy. But, the judge himself later claimed that he believed Savarkar to be complicit although no evidence could be found. Years later Gopal Godse too claimed that assassination happened with Savarkar's blessings if not, his express involvement.
The answers probably lie in how we read the actions of the men. Is it possible for a man to be a patriot and a criminal? After all Gandhi himself willfully broke laws several times. What was Godse's motivation? It was not his intent to overthrow the state, so he was not a traitor to the state. Yet, if we judge him for the one act that he committed, he is still a murderer. Is taking the life of another in the name of patriotism justified if a nation is not in a state of war? Is the killing of another human being, who is unarmed and poses no threat of life justified? Can it be justified legally; can it be justified by the moral code of the very same religion that Godse belonged to? But surely, whatever the answers maybe, they cannot preclude him from being a patriot. Again difficult questions, these.
Gandhi was no doubt the most important figure in India's freedom struggle. Hind Swaraj, a book that he wrote long before he was in the front line of the Congress movement still resonates today in its words. But was he a man without faults? Probably not. Was he a saint, or a clever political tactician who understood the pulse of the people and bent them to his will? Hard to say. If Gandhi had been alive, how would Kashmir have turned out? How long would Nehru continue to be Prime Minister, before the more popular Vallabhbhai Patel was pushed for the job? What did killing Gandhi really achieve. Readings of his grandsons' views on his life show how much he is still relevant in today's time. So what was Godse's crime really? Was it killing another human being or was it killing a national leader, revered to an almost Godlike status? Difficult questions, these.
This has been a difficult article to write, and the questions above are questions that often play in my mind. But, I have no answers for them. I will leave it to the readers here, to find their own answers, to form their own opinion. I can only close out with one final question. Would Gandhi have agreed to hang Godse for killing Gandhi?
Sources and Influences;
After years of distancing itself from Godse and Savarkar, the Hindu right-wing have been attempting to re-build their links since around 2003. In recent times, this has strengthened with several members of the ruling party suggesting that Savarkar be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. Other members have called Godse a patriot, leading to rebuke and anger from the civility as well as their political opponents. This has become another in a long list of issues that continue to sharply polarize the country.
So, can we call Godse, a patriot? Or Savarkar? Difficult questions, these, and there are no simple answers. Godse's speech defending his actions is compelling. Reading through it, you can feel the pain, the frustration and the anger of the man, at what he sees as the destruction of his homeland. He even takes the entire blame upon himself asking that the other accused be released. Honorable action, that. Savarkar's is a more complicated matter. He was a fiery patriot and nationalist, who was imprisoned in Andaman's infamous Cellular Jail. He appealed to the British were pardon, causing claims of cowardice to be stuck to his name since. In the trial for Gandhi's murder, no evidence could be found linking him to the conspiracy. But, the judge himself later claimed that he believed Savarkar to be complicit although no evidence could be found. Years later Gopal Godse too claimed that assassination happened with Savarkar's blessings if not, his express involvement.
The answers probably lie in how we read the actions of the men. Is it possible for a man to be a patriot and a criminal? After all Gandhi himself willfully broke laws several times. What was Godse's motivation? It was not his intent to overthrow the state, so he was not a traitor to the state. Yet, if we judge him for the one act that he committed, he is still a murderer. Is taking the life of another in the name of patriotism justified if a nation is not in a state of war? Is the killing of another human being, who is unarmed and poses no threat of life justified? Can it be justified legally; can it be justified by the moral code of the very same religion that Godse belonged to? But surely, whatever the answers maybe, they cannot preclude him from being a patriot. Again difficult questions, these.
Gandhi was no doubt the most important figure in India's freedom struggle. Hind Swaraj, a book that he wrote long before he was in the front line of the Congress movement still resonates today in its words. But was he a man without faults? Probably not. Was he a saint, or a clever political tactician who understood the pulse of the people and bent them to his will? Hard to say. If Gandhi had been alive, how would Kashmir have turned out? How long would Nehru continue to be Prime Minister, before the more popular Vallabhbhai Patel was pushed for the job? What did killing Gandhi really achieve. Readings of his grandsons' views on his life show how much he is still relevant in today's time. So what was Godse's crime really? Was it killing another human being or was it killing a national leader, revered to an almost Godlike status? Difficult questions, these.
This has been a difficult article to write, and the questions above are questions that often play in my mind. But, I have no answers for them. I will leave it to the readers here, to find their own answers, to form their own opinion. I can only close out with one final question. Would Gandhi have agreed to hang Godse for killing Gandhi?
"Please, see to it that mercy is not imposed on me. I want to show that through me, Gandhiji's non-violence is being hanged." - Nathuram Godse
Sources and Influences;
- Why I Killed Gandhi by Nathuram Godse
- Why I Killed the Mahatma: Understanding Godse's Defense by Dr Koenraad Elst
- Hind Swaraj or Indian home Rule by Mohandas Gandhi
- Let's Kill Gandhi by Tushar Gandhi
- Why Gandhi Still Matters: An Appraisal of the Mahatma's Legacy by Rajmohan Gandhi
- Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Mahatma_Gandhi
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