Nathuram Godse Nathuram Vinayak Godse Nathuram Godse at his trial for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi Born 19 May 1910 Baramati , Pune District, Bombay Presidency , British India (now in Maharashtra, India) Died 15 November 1949 (aged 39) Ambala Prison, Punjab Province, Dominion of India (now in Haryana , India) Cause of death Execution by hanging Nationali ty Indian Known for Assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949) was the sole assassin of Mahatma Gandhi—the pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India and apostle of non-violence —shooting Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range on 30 January 1948 in New Delhi . Godse, a Hindu nationalist activist from Pune , Maharashtra, and ex-member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, [1][2] who resented what he considered was Gandhis partiality to Indias Muslims, plotted the assassination with Narayan Apte and six others. After a trial that lasted over a year, Godse was sentenced to death on 8 November 1949. Although pleas for commutation were made by Indias prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and by two of Gandhis sons on the grounds that a death sentence would dishonour the legacy of a man opposed to all forms of violence, Godse was hanged a week later. Early life Nathuram Vinayakrao Godse was born in Chitpavan Brahmin at the nativity mission center, Pune District, into a Marathi family. His father, Vinayak Vamanrao Godse, was a post office employee and his mother[ further explanation needed] was Lakshmi (née Godavari). [further explanation needed] At birth, he was named Ramachandra. [3] 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. [4] Godse attended the local school at Baramati through the fifth standard, after which he was sent to live with an aunt in Pune so that he could study at an English-language school. During his school days, he highly respected Gandhi. [5] In 1930, Nathurams father was transferred to the town of Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Political career Group photo of people accused in the murder of Mohandas Gandhi. Standing (L to R) : Shankar Kistaiya, Gopal Godse, Madan Lal Pahwa , Digambar Ramchandra Badge. Seated (L to R) : Narayan Apte, Vinayak D. Savarkar , Nathuram Godse, Vishnu Karkare Godse dropped out of high school and became an activist with Hindu nationalist organizations such as the Hindu Mahasabha , and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), although it is unclear how long this relationship endured. [6][7] They were particularly opposed to the separatist politics of the All India Muslim League . Godse started a Marathi newspaper for the Hindu Mahasabha called Agrani, which some years later was renamed Hindu Rashtra . The Hindu Mahasabha had initially backed Gandhis campaigns of civil disobedience against the British government. Godse later rejected Gandhis philosophy, believing Gandhi repeatedly sabotaged the interests of Hindus by using the fasting unto death tactic on many issues. In Godses view, Gandhi was giving in to Muslim interests in ways that seemed unfair and anti-national. He blamed Gandhi for the partition of India , which left hundreds of thousands of people dead in the wake of religious unrest. This has been said to be one of the major reasons behind his decision to kill Gandhi. [8] Assassination of Mahatma
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 08:17:16 +0000