Nathuram Godse:The Forgotten Hero

" In condemning history's towering warriors like Shivaji , Rana Pratap and Guru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots, Gandhiji has merely exposed his self-conceit. He was, paradoxical as it may appear, a violent pacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name of truth and non-violence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru will remain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen for ever for the freedom they brought to them. The accumulating provocation of thirty-two years, culminating in his last pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that the existence of Gandhi should be brought to an end immediately. " Shri Nathuramji Godse

On January 30 1948 Nathuram Godse fired on Gandhi from close range and ended the life of Gandhi. Godse is often a misunderstood character. He is referred to as a Hindu fanatic. It is often hard to understand Godse because the Government of India had suppressed information about him. His court statements, letters etc. were all banned from the public until recently. Judging from his writings one thing becomes very clear - He was no fanatic. His court statements are very well read out and indicate a calm and collected mental disposition. He never even once speaks ill about Gandhi as a person, but only attacks Gandhi's policies which caused ruin and untold misery to Hindus. Another interesting point to note is that Godse had been working with the Hindu refugees fleeing from Pakistan. He had seen the horrible atrocities committed on them. Many women had their hands cut off, nose cut off, even little girls had been raped mercilessly. Despite this Godse did not harm even single Muslim in India which he could easily have. So it would be a grave mistake to call him a Hindu fanatic.

Let us start by studying the motive behind Godse's act. By seeing the nature of the assassination in public space and Godse's act of turning himself over to the Police, we can see that Godse did not do this for personal reasons. He very well knew that he would be hanged and his name would be disgraced as Gandhi was considered a saint. And again Godse could have run away and escaped punishment. But he did the reverse. He called a police officer and courted arrest. Before we proceed it would be wise to understand the backdrop of the assassination.

The British had decided to grant freedom to India in 1947. But at the time of granting freedom they decided to carve a separate country called Pakistan(Pure Land) for the sake of Muslims. Gandhi despite being the most influential Congress leader did not put any real effort to stop this. There was no fast unto deaths or processions to protest against this. Unfortunately many Hindu dominated areas like Lahore went to Pakistan and in order to 'purify' the land many Hindus were massacred, women abducted and married off to Muslims, and other such heinous acts were committed. The partition is regarded as the top ten tragedies of the world. Millions of Hindus escaped into India. The Hindus in India showed their anger by committing the same acts on Muslims. Gandhi went on a fast in order to protest the violence against Muslims. This angered many Hindus. Why did Gandhi not protest the acts of violence by Muslims. After all it was the Muslims who demanded a separate state where Islam alone would be practiced. It was the Muslims who started rioting first. After the creation of Pakistan, the Government of Pakistan demanded that India should give it Rs55 Crores as it's share from the Government treasury. This was quite an extraordinary amount at that time. Gandhi supported this decision and went on a fast until death till the Government released the money to Pakistan.

The subsequent acquiescence of the Government and the release of the Money to Pakistan was what convinced Godse that Gandhi had to be assassinated for the benefit of India. So we can see that Godse's motive was to do an act which would benefit his Motherland. At the time of assassination Gandhi was flanked by two girls with his arms on both of them. Godse pushed one girl away least she should be injured. We can see that Godse was not a mere fanatic who wanted to blindly murder anyone and everyone associated with Gandhi. He very well knew he was going to die for his act, but still he was very careful not to cause injury to innocent people associated with Gandhi.

"If devotion to one's country amounts to sin, I admit I have commited that sin if it is meritorious I humbly claim the merit therof. I fully and confidently believe if there is any court of justice, beyond the one found by the mortals, my acts wil not be taken as unjust. If after the death there be no place to reach or to go, there is nothing to be said. I have resorted to the action I did purely for the benefit of the humanity. I do say that my shots were fired at that person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin and destruction to lakhs of Hindus"

                            Shri Nathuram Godse 

He was hanged in the early hours of a cold November morning of 1948 in Ambala prison. Clutching a map of undivided India in one hand and the saffron flag in another, he walked to the gallows chanting an invocation to his motherland. A few hours later, his body was cremated outside the prison walls and, immediately afterwards, the whole area was ploughed and planted with grass so that no one could identify the spot and build a shrine

" My dear Dattatraya,
If you are allowed to perform last rites of my body you may perform
them in any manner.But I am to express herewith a specific wish.
The river Indus (Sindhu),on the banks of which our pre-historic
Rishis composed the Vedas is the Boundary of our Bharatvarsha i.e.
Hindusthan.My ashes may be sunk in the Holy Sindhu River when she
will again flow freely under the aegis of the flag of Hindusthan.
That will be the sacred day for us.It hardly matters even if it
took a couple of generations for realizing my wish. Preserve the
ashes till then, and if that day would not dawn in your lifetime,
pass on the remains to posterity for translating my desire into
reality.If and when the Government lifts ban on my statement made
in the Court, I authorize you to publish it."
                             4-11-1949,Nathuram Vinayak Godse