Nathuram Godse : A hero or a Villain?

Hero: Mahatma Gandhi

"If I'm to die by the bullet of a madman, I must do so smiling," Mahatma Gandhi said two days before his death. God has to be in my heart and on my tongue. And if anything bad happens, you are not to cry."

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, already revered as Mahatma for his spiritual lifestyle and ideas, returned to India in 1915 after spending 21 years in South Africa. Gandhi had practised law and, more crucially, gained an international reputation as a major proponent of Indian self-rule during his years overseas. Back home, Gandhi's celebrity quickly elevated him to the forefront of the Indian independence cause. Gandhi was elected president of the Indian National Congress in 1920, advocating moderate, peaceful resistance to British authority.

He led the Congress in declaring independence on January 26, 1930. Despite its rejection of the proclamation, Britain handed the congress greater power. When Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, the governor general and viceroy of India, declared war on Germany without consulting the Congress, the congress broke with the British Raj (government by the Crown).

Gandhi was imprisoned in 1942 as his demands for the British to leave India completely grew. Two years later, despite his poor health as a result of fasting, the British freed him because they thought his death in prison would start a general rebellion.

Gandhi tried but failed to persuade the Muslim League to campaign for undivided independence rather than religious division of India, claiming that the partition matter might be decided in plebiscites in affected regions after independence.

Meanwhile, Gandhi's moderate attitude enraged hardline Hindus, who plotted his assassination. In July 1944, Nathuram Godse, a gang leader, attempted to kill Gandhi with a dagger for the first time. Godse was disarmed by bystanders and released at Gandhi's request. Godse was again thwarted in September 1944, as he approached Gandhi in Bombay.

Gandhi was 78 years old on January 30, 1948, and had been seriously debilitated by his protest fasting. His great niece and adoptive daughter walked with him as he made his way to the location where he held regular evening multifaith prayer services. A hefty man in a khaki bush jacket and blue trousers forced his way through the crowd. Nathuram Godse pulled a pistol and shot Gandhi three times at point-blank range while claiming to want to touch Gandhi's feet.

"The light has gone out of our lives," Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared over All-India Radio. "The Father of the Nation is no more."

Villain: Nathuram Godse

On January 28, 1948, Hindu radical Nathuram Godse and accomplice Narayan Apte obtained a 9-millimetre Beretta semi-automatic pistol. Godse had previously been disarmed in two separate attempts to kill Mahatma Gandhi with a dagger. He was certain that the pistol would assure his triumph. Godse approached Gandhi two days later and fatally shot him. Making no attempt to flee or kill himself, the 37-year-old narrowly avoided being beaten to death by the crowd before being apprehended by police.

Ramachandra Viayak Godse was born to a Brahmin family (the highest Hindu caste), and his parents reared him as a female at first since three previous sons had all died in infancy, and they wanted to break a believed curse. They pierced his nose in the Hindu feminine style, earning him the nickname "Nath" and the name Nathuram.

When Godse was 19, his father relocated to Ratnagiri, where Hindu activist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was serving a 50-year term for aiding an armed insurgency. With the freedom to traverse the streets, Savarkar proceeded to stir violent rebellion to British rule. Godse was introduced to Hindutva, or the belief in a Hindu-dominated nation, by Savarkar. While technically promoting religious freedom, Hindutva advocates for Muslim, Christian, and other non-Indian religions to be subordinate to Hinduism.

Godse claimed the Muslim League had suborned the Indian National Congress by the time Gandhi became president. Gandhi's demands for nonviolent resistance to British authority were also seen as impractical and futile. Godse and Apte launched a newspaper in 1944 to promote Hindu nationalism. When India gained independence in 1947, it partitioned its western territory into Muslim Pakistan. This enraged Godse, and his rage was directed at Gandhi.

"An individual is never greater than a nation," stated Godse. "But Gandhi has started considering himself greater than the nation." As a result, Godse became a member of a conspiracy, possibly led by Savarkar, that intended to assassinate Gandhi on January 13. Godse had a chance to strike seventeen days later. "My confidence about the moral side of my action has not been shaken even by criticism levelled against it on all sides," Godse wrote thereafter. "I have no doubt that honest writers of history will weigh my act and find the true value thereof some day in the future."

On February 10, 1949, Savarkar was acquitted at trial, but Godse and Apte were sentenced to death. Five additional conspirators were sentenced to life in prison. The two men were hanged on November 15, 1949. While being carried to the gallows, Godse repeatedly yelled, "Akhand Bharat," which translates to "Undivided India."