Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was walking with the help of his two grandnieces to attend a prayer meeting in New Delhi on 30th January 1948 when he was confronted by Nathuram Godse. Godse was angry with some of the policies Mahatma Gandhi was in favor of.
Mahatma Gandhi always vouched for Hindu-Muslim unity but the idea of peace seldom goes down well with men who need violence to survive. Mahatma Gandhi was shot three times in front of a huge gathering. by Nathuram Godse.
People in the crowd gathered and thrashed Nathuram for what he did before handing him over to the police. Several leaders were afraid that this news will instigate violence in the country and that’s exactly what happened.
Riots broke out in several parts of the country as people were severely affected by the demise of their leader. Mahatma Gandhi was attacked 10 days before his assassination as well.
A man named Madanlal Pahwa set off a bomb in a prayer meeting of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma was furious after the incident. He repeatedly asked everyone in the gatherings he attended after the incident to believe in the true ideals of their respective religions. He wanted to further spread the idea of Non-Violence.
Nathuram Godse and Narayan Dattatraya Apte were hanged for assassinating Mahatma Gandhi on November 15, 1949. This happened 71 days before the Supreme Court of India formally came into existence.
Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals are the essence of Independent India. He might have left the world just an year after India’s Independence but his thoughts and ideals will live on forever.
Source: Free Press Journal
