Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was
assassinated on January 30 1948, shot at
point-blank rangeIn external ballistics, point-blank range is the distance between a firearm and a target of a given size such that the bullet in flight is expected to strike the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm . The point-blank range will vary with the firearm and its particular ballistic...
by
Nathuram GodseNathuram Vinayak Godse is best known for being the man who assassinated Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
, an activist. Since 1934, there had been five unsuccessful attempts to kill Gandhi.
First attempt
On June 25 1934, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was in Pune along with his wife, Kasturba Gandhi, to deliver a speech at Corporation Auditorium. They were travelling in a motorcade of two cars. En route, they came across a railway level crossing. The car in which the couple was travelling was delayed and the first car reached the auditorium. Just when the first car arrived at the auditorium, a
bombA bomb is any of a range of explosive devices that typically rely on the exothermic chemical reaction of an explosive material to produce an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. The word comes from the Greek word βόμβος , an onomatopoetic term with approximately the same meaning as...
was thrown, which exploded near the car. This caused grievous injury to the Chief Officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation, two policemen and seven others. Nevertheless, no account or records of the investigation nor arrests made can be found. Gandhi's secretary,
Pyarelal NayyarPyarelal Nayyar was the personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi in his later years. His sister Dr. Sushila Nayyar was the Personal Physician to Mahatma Gandhi....
believes that the attempt failed due to lack of planning and co-ordination.
Second attempt
The second attempt on the life of Mahatma Gandhi may not have been an attempt to assassinate as much as a demonstration of anger by an angry young man who tried to bow down to the great soul Gandhi and was rejected. In May 1944, Gandhi was sent from Agha Khan Palace prison and soon after he contracted
malariaMalaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and...
. On the advice of doctors, he took a vacation to
PanchganiPānchgani is a town with a municipal council in Sātārā district in Mahārāshtra, India .-History:Scenic Panchgani was discovered by the British during the British Raj as a summer resort, and a superintendent named John Chesson was placed in charge of the hill station in the 1860s...
, a hill station near Pune. During his stay at Panchgani, Gandhi was staying at Dilkush Bungalow. A group of 15-20 young men came to Panchgani after realizing that Gandhi was staying there. This young crowd, led by
Nathuram GodseNathuram Vinayak Godse is best known for being the man who assassinated Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
, came through a chartered bus. These youth held a day long protest demonstration, but declined to talk with Gandhi when invited. However, by evening, during the prayer meeting, Nathuram Godse rushed towards Gandhi with a
daggerA dagger is a typically double-edged blade used for stabbing or thrusting. They often fulfill the role of a secondary defense weapon in close combat...
shouting anti-Gandhi slogans. He was unable to reach Gandhi as he was overpowered by Mani Shankar Purohit (proprietor of Surti Lodge, Pune) and D. Billare Guruji of
SataraSatara is a town located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The name is derived from the seven hills surrounding the town. The town is 2320 ft...
(who later became a Congress legislator from Mahabaleshwar).
The documentary evidence of this attack can be found in the depositions made by Mani Shankar Purohit and D.Billare Guruji before the
Kapur CommissionThe release of the co-conspirators in the Gandhi murder case in 1964 and the resultant celebrations in Pune and Ketkar's remarks that he was aware of Nathuram Godse's desire to kill Gandhi, led to a public outrage and resulted in the forming of the Pathak commission, when Pathak became central...
set up to investigate the assassination of Gandhi. However, the Kapur Commission rejected this theory as many of the close associates of Gandhi were not present during that time.
Third attempt
The third attempt was also a demonstration. However, people who testified before the Kapur Commission referred it as an attempt to murder. Mahatma Gandhi began his talks with Mohammad Ali Jinnah on 9 September, 1944 which lasted for 14 days. While leaving for Mumbai from Sevagram Ashram, a group of Hindu activists stopped him. They did not want him to go to Mumbai to hold talks with Jinnah, however, these protesters were stopped by volunteers of the
ashramTraditionally, an ashram is a religious hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
.
The leader of this group, Nathuram Godse, was again found in possession of a dagger. The policeman who found the dagger then looked up to him and joked, "Why do you want to kill Gandhi? Let's leave it to the leaders themselves... perhaps (Veer) Savarkar will finish off the job!" At which Godse retorted, "Gandhi does not require such an honor. Even the jamadar (sweeper) is enough for that!"
Dr.
Sushila NayyarSushila Nayyar, also spelled 'Nayar' , was the younger sister of Pyarelal Nayyar, personal secretary to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the Gandhis' personal physician.-Biography:...
testified to this effect before the Kapur Commission and she considered this an attempt at assassination. This incident has also been portrayed in the film
GandhiGandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both won Academy...
by Sir
Richard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, CBE is an English actor, director, producer, and entrepreneur. Attenborough has won two Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes...
. However, it is not portrayed as an attempt to murder but as a peaceful demonstration in which the demonstrators were waving black flags.
Fourth attempt
June 29 1946, the train carrying Mahatma Gandhi called
Gandhi Special derailed between
NeralNeral is a town in Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is 83 km from Mumbai in the Karjat tehsil.It is best known as a railroad junction, with trains arriving from Mumbai and from Pune, India. to the nearby and very popular hill station of Matheran. A narrow-gauge rail line, 21...
and Karjat stations of Mumbai Section. The report submitted by the motorman or driver of the train claimed that boulders were placed on the tracks of the train, with the intention to derail it. The train had crashed into the boulders. The Pune police claimed that the boulders were placed by looters to stop trains carrying goods. The police have not disclaimed sabotage. Since the Gandhi Special was the only train on that route at that time, and there were no goods trains on the section, either before or after, it is plausible that Gandhi must have been the target.
Fifth attempt
On January 20, 1948,
Madanlal PahwaMadanlal Pahwa came to India in 1947 as a refugee after the partition of India. The plight of refugees intensified his anger against Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders...
,
Shankar KistaiyaShankar Kistaiya was an accused in the Mahatama's Gandhi's assassination case. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but was acquitted by the high court.-Early life:...
,
Digambar BadgeDigambar Badge was an Indian Hindu political activist. A member of the Hindu Mahasabha, he was a member of the group that plotted to assassinate Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi...
,
Vishnu KarkareVishnu Ramakrishna Karkare , a Hindu Mahasabha activist was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in an attempt to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
,
Gopal GodseGopal Vinayak Godse , was the brother of Nathuram Godse and one of the conspirators in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948...
,
Nathuram GodseNathuram Vinayak Godse is best known for being the man who assassinated Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
, and
Narayan ApteNarayan Dattatraya Apte was a Hindu activist and enterpreneur who was executed for his role in the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ....
came to Birla Bhavan (aka Birla House) in
DelhiDelhi, known locally as Dilli , and also by the official name National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India...
to carry out another attack on Mahatma Gandhi. Except for Madanlal Pahwa and Vishnu Karkare, everyone else reached the venue through the rear entrance in a cab. (Surjeet Singh was the cab driver). Madanlal Pahwa tried to bribe Choturam, the driver at Birla Bhavan, to let him go behind the podium to take pictures of Gandhi. However, Choturam became suspicious and asked Madanlal Pahwa why he needed photographs from behind, and inquired about the absence of a
camerathumb |right|Cameras from Large to Small, Film to Digital A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies...
. Madanlal Pahwa instead left, making Choturam think he was going back to the taxi; however, he placed a cotton ball enclosing a bomb on the wall behind the podium and ignited it. The bomb went off without creating any panic. The team had left after abandoning Madanlal Pahwa.
On interrogation, Madanlal Pahwa admitted that he was part of a seven member gang who wanted to kill Gandhi. The plan was that
Madanlal PahwaMadanlal Pahwa came to India in 1947 as a refugee after the partition of India. The plight of refugees intensified his anger against Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders...
would explode a bomb as close to the podium as possible while Digambar Bagde or Shankar Kishtaiyya would shoot Gandhi in the head during the ensuing panic and
stampedeA stampede is an act of mass impulse among herd animals or a crowd of people in which the herd collectively begins running with no clear direction or purpose. Stampedes are believed to originate from biological responses in the brains and endocrine systems of herd animals...
, using the chaotic situation to cover their escape. (Vishnu Karkare was to compound the chaos by hurling hand grenades.) Faced with Choturam's suspicious attitude, Digambar Bagde decided at the last minute not to act, and instructed Shankar Kishtaiyya (his servant) to do the same.
Later, Madanlal Phawa led the police to the Marina Hotel where Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte had been staying and also to Sharief Hotel where all other gang members had been staying. Everyone had left by that time and the police were only able to recover some letters and clothes which had the initials "NVG" on it. By this time they were able to ascertain that the members of that team were from
MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population....
; however they were not able to establish the identity and the involvement of Nathuram Godse.
During the Mahatma Gandhi murder
trialIn law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a formal setting, usually a court, before a judge, jury, or other designated finder of fact, in order to achieve a resolution to their dispute....
, Madanlal Pahwa was identified by Mrs. Sulochana Devi, who had come to Birla Bhavan in search of her three year old son (who used to play in the servant quarters). She was the fifteenth witness in the trial, and Surjeet Singh, the driver, was the fourteenth witness.
Assassination
After the failed attempt at
Birla HouseGandhi Smriti formerly known as Birla House or Birla Bhavan, is a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, situated on Tees January Road, in New Delhi, India. It is the location where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life and was assassinated on January 30, 1948. It was originally the house...
,
Nathuram GodseNathuram Vinayak Godse is best known for being the man who assassinated Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
and
Narayan ApteNarayan Dattatraya Apte was a Hindu activist and enterpreneur who was executed for his role in the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ....
returned to Pune via Mumbai (Bombay). With the help of Dr. Dattatraya Parchure and Gangadhar Dandavate, Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte purchased a
BerettaFabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is a major Italian firearm manufacturing company. Its firearms are used worldwide by civilians, police, and armies. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories.-History:...
Semi-automatic firearm and eleven rounds of ammunition at
GwaliorGwalior , is a city in Madhya Pradesh in India. It lies 76 miles south of Agra and has a population of over 1.2 million. Gwalior was the Capital City of Great Maratha Sardar & Warrior Maharaja Shrimant Madhavraoji Shinde - Sawstant Gwalior...
and reached
DelhiDelhi, known locally as Dilli , and also by the official name National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India...
on January 29 1948, checking into the Retiring room No. 6 at Delhi Railway Station. On January 30 1948, at 5:17 p.m., Nathuram Godse got close enough to Mahatma Gandhi and shot him three times in his chest at
point-blank rangeIn external ballistics, point-blank range is the distance between a firearm and a target of a given size such that the bullet in flight is expected to strike the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm . The point-blank range will vary with the firearm and its particular ballistic...
.
Shri Dharam Jit Jigyasu gave an account of the events to Muni Jaitly, his grandson, in 2000. He was standing next to the assassin, Nathuram Godse, when all who were present kneeled before Gandhi to greet him.
Godse shot Gandhi three times. Dharam Jit Jigyasu heard Gandhi utter the words, "Hai ram [Oh God] ... Hai ram ... Hai Ram" as he hit the ground.
Controversy over last words
The last word(s) uttered by Mahatma Gandhi are still a matter of debate. Venkita Kalyanam, former personal assistant to Mr. Gandhi, said that he was present at the spot and that Gandhi said "oh".
New Delhi's Tughlak Road police station's assistant sub-inspector Dhalu Ram recorded Nand Lal Mehta's statement:
In the First Information Report there is no statement that any doctor was called. There has been no explanation of why he was not rushed to hospital and was instead taken to
Birla HouseGandhi Smriti formerly known as Birla House or Birla Bhavan, is a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, situated on Tees January Road, in New Delhi, India. It is the location where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life and was assassinated on January 30, 1948. It was originally the house...
, where he died later.
Conspirators
- Nathuram Vinayak Godse
Nathuram Vinayak Godse is best known for being the man who assassinated Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
- Narayan Dattatraya Apte
Narayan Dattatraya Apte was a Hindu activist and enterpreneur who was executed for his role in the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ....
- Vishnu Ramkrishna Karkare
Vishnu Ramakrishna Karkare , a Hindu Mahasabha activist was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in an attempt to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
- Madanlal Kashmirilal Pahwa
Madanlal Pahwa came to India in 1947 as a refugee after the partition of India. The plight of refugees intensified his anger against Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders...
- Shankar Kistaiya
Shankar Kistaiya was an accused in the Mahatama's Gandhi's assassination case. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but was acquitted by the high court.-Early life:...
- Gopal Vinayak Godse
Gopal Vinayak Godse , was the brother of Nathuram Godse and one of the conspirators in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948...
- Digambar Ramchandra Badge
- Dattatraya Sadashiv Parchure
- Gangadhar Dandavate
- Gangadhar Jadhao
- Suryadeo Sharma
Kapur Commission
On November 12, 1964, a religious programme was organised in Pune, to celebrate the release of the
Gopal GodseGopal Vinayak Godse , was the brother of Nathuram Godse and one of the conspirators in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948...
,
Madanlal PahwaMadanlal Pahwa came to India in 1947 as a refugee after the partition of India. The plight of refugees intensified his anger against Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders...
,
Vishnu KarkareVishnu Ramakrishna Karkare , a Hindu Mahasabha activist was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in an attempt to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
from jail after the expiry of their sentences. Dr. G. V. Ketkar, grandson of
Bal Gangadhar TilakBal Gangadhar Tilak –, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer and independence fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities derogatorily called him the "Father of the Indian unrest"...
, former editor of Kesari and then editor of Tarun Bharat, who presided over the function, revealed six months before the actual event, that
Nathuram GodseNathuram Vinayak Godse is best known for being the man who assassinated Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
disclosed his ideas to kill Gandhi and was opposed by Ketkar. Ketkar said that he passed the information to Balukaka Kanitkar who conveyed it to the then Chief Minister of
Bombay StateThe Bombay State was a former state of India, dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on May 1, 1960.-History:During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency...
,
B. G. KherBalasaheb Gangadhar Kher was the first chief minister of Bombay State which consisted of present day Maharastra and Gujrat States of India...
.
The Indian ExpressThe Indian Express is an Indian newspaper owned by Ramnath Goenka started in 1931 by Chennai based Veradharajulu Naidu. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the...
in its issue of November 14, 1964, commented adversely on Ketkar's conduct that Ketkar's fore-knowledge of the assassination of Gandhi added to the mystery of the circumstances preceding to the assassination. Ketkar was arrested. A public furore ensued both outside and inside the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and both houses of the Indian parliament. There was a suggestion that there had been a deliberate dereliction of duty on the part of people in high authority, who failed to act responsibly even though they had information that could have prevented Gandhi's shooting. Under pressure of 29 members of parliament and public opinion the then Union home minister
Gulzarilal NandaGulzarilal Nanda was an Indian politician and an economist with specialization in labor problems. He was the interim Prime Minister of India twice for thirteen days each: the first time after the death of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, and the second time after the death of Prime...
, appointed Gopal Swarup Pathak, M. P. and a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India, in charge of inquiry of conspiracy to murder Gandhi. Since both Kanitkar and Kher were deceased, the central government intended on conducting a thorough inquiry with the help of old records in consultation with the government of Maharashtra, Pathak was given three months to conduct his inquiry. But as Pathak was appointed a central minister and then governor of Mysore state, the commission of inquiry was reconstituted and Jevanlal Kapur a retired judge of the
Supreme Court of IndiaThe Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. According to the Constitution of India, the role of the Supreme Court is that of a federal court, guardian of the Constitution and the highest court of appeal.Articles 124...
was appointed to conduct the inquiry.
Further reading
- Tushar A. Gandhi; ‘LET’S KILL GANDHI!’ — A Chronicle of His Last Days, the Conspiracy, Murder, Investigation and Trial
- "The Men who Killed Gandhi" by Manohar Malgonkar
- K. L. Gauba’s Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
- J. L. Kapur Commission of Inquiry into the Conspiracy to Murder Mahatma Gandhi
- G. D. Khosla Murder of the Mahatma
- Pyarelal Mahatma Gandhi: The Last Phase
- "Gandhi Murder Trial" by Tapan Ghosh
- P. L. Inamdar The Story of the Red Fort Trial: 1948-49
External links
- First hand eyewitness account of the actual assassination from Shri Dharam Jit Jigyasu, as told to his grandson Muni Jaitly. CBSNews.com: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/30/world/main2415455.shtml
- First Information Report on Gandhi's Murder in Urdu
Urdu is a Central Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the two official languages of Pakistan. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of five Indian states...
http://www.kiranbedi.com/gandhifir1.htmEnglish version http://www.kiranbedi.com/gandhifireng.htm
- Mahatma.Org
- From the pages of history