Nathuram Godse: The nationalist who killed the father of nation

Godse fired three bullets at the chest of Gandhi ji from a close range, ensuring his death. He chose not to escape and was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. It was his third attempt to assassinate Gandhi ji. Earlier in 1944, he had made two attempts to kill him, but were unsuccessful. He was not alone in the assassination conspiracy; he had plotted the assassination with Narayan Apte and six others.

After the 1948 assassination, Godse claimed Gandhi favoured the political demands of British India’s Muslims during the partition of India of 1947.

Godse was born into a Konkani Brahmin family from Baramati, Pune. He got his name Nathuram after his parents forced him to wear a nose ring as they feared that their family was under a curse where their male child died at infancy. He had three brothers and a sister, with all of three boys dying in their infancy.

His parents sent him to study at an English-language school in Pune after he completed his fifth standard education at a local school in Baramati. But he dropped out of high school and became an activist.

It is said that during his school days he had tremendous respect for Mahatma Gandhi and he even participated in civil disobedience movement in 1930.

Godse was inspired by nationalist ideals of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar . He became was a member of Hindu Mahasabha. He often used to write articles in newspapers to publicise his thoughts. Later he started his own newspaper named Agrani, along with his partner in crime Narayan Apte. He was the editor of the newspaper.

After the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Godse was arrested and was put on trial at the Punjab High Court, at Peterhoff, Shimla. In 1949 he was sentenced to death. Although Manilal and Ramdas Gandhi, the two sons of Mahatma Gandhi requested for commutation but was turned down by Indian government and Godse was hanged at Ambala Central Jail on 15 November 1949