The Men Who Killed Gandhi

The Men Who Killed Gandhi by Manohar Malgonkar takes readers back into the pages of Indian history during the time of the partition, featuring the murder plot and assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The Men Who Killed Gandhi is a spellbinding non fictional recreation of the events which led to India’s partition, the eventual assassination of Gandhi, and the prosecution of those who were involved in Gandhi’s murder. This historical reenactment is set against the tumultuous backdrop of the British Raj. Malgonkar’s book is a result of painstaking research and from also having privileged access to many important documents and photographs related to the assassination. There is no doubt that Mahatma Gandhi played a leading role in obtaining independence from the British. But the problems that ensued afterwards, such as the structural rebuilding of the country and the Partition, led to many riots, massive migrations, and deep racial and cultural divides. Not everyone agreed with Gandhi and his ideals. As a result, a plot to assassinate Gandhi was devised by six individuals named, Narayan Apte, Gopal Godse, Madanlal Pahwa, Digambar Badge, and Nathuram Godse. This was eventually carried out in New Delhi, on the 30th of January, 1948. Eventually, these six individuals were tried and convicted. Four of them received life sentences while two of them received the death penalty. The first publication of The Men Who Killed Gandhi occurred in 1978, during the Emergency years. As a result, Malgonkar omitted many vital facts including Dr. Ambedkar’s role in minimizing Savarkar’s criminal conviction. This 11th edition of the text contains these omitted facts as well as rare documents, and photographs obtained from National Archives. After the four individuals who were convicted for Gandhi’s murder completed their life sentences, they were interviewed by Malgonkar. These individuals revealed many details to him which were never known before. The author also received access to the Kapur Commission from his friend Mr. Nayar, who was in the Indian Police Service. As a result, The Men Who Killed Gandhi is considered the most historically accurate account of Gandhi’s assassination plot.

While the nation was celebrating Independence from British Rule and singing all praises for the ‘Father of The Nation’ – Mahatma Gandhi, the news of his assassination came as a shock. He was shot in the chest three times while he was walking towards the prayer grounds at the Birla House, New Delhi. The man behind the assassination – Nathuram Godse was a well known nationalist. He was arrested at the crime scene and sentenced to death after a year long trial. The book contains the final speech given by Godse in the court, mentioning the reason behind the drastic step he took.

Description Three bullets were shot into the chest of Mahatma Gandhi by a certain Nathuram Godse on the evening of 30 January 1948. His true motivations, however, are today actively obscured, and his admirers sit in the Indian parliament as members of the ruling establishment. This book is a timely effort to remind us that Gandhi's killing was not a random act of a mindless killer. It was the culmination of a cold-blooded conspiracy. The men who stood trial for the murder of Gandhi claimed that they were acting for a stronger, more united, India. Their 78-year-old peace-loving target, they felt, was the single biggest impediment to achieving that goal. They accused him of dishonesty and treachery; he was blamed for the Partition of India, for 'appeasing' Muslims; and condemned for 'fail[ing] in his duty' to the people of this nation. To them, Gandhi had to die because 'there was no legal machinery by which such an offender could be brought to book'. Do any of the accusations have any claim to truth whatsoever? If not, what, then, was the actual intention that these arguments made by Godse were attempting to hide? And was V.D. Savarkar, among others, involved in the conspiracy? Ashok Kumar Pandey's Why They Killed Gandhi, translated from the celebrated Hindi original, lays bare the facts of the murder, and offers a passionate defence of the Mahatma and his politics, while simultaneously delivering a trenchant polemic against the ideology of bigotry and perpetual violence that killed him.

Dhirendra Jha's deeply researched history places Nathuram Godse's life as the juncture of the dangerous fault lines in contemporary India: the quest for independence and the rise of Hindu nationalism. On a wintry Delhi evening on 30 January 1948, Nathuram Godse shot Gandhi at point-blank range, forever silencing the man who had delivered independence to his nation. Godse's journey to this moment of international notoriety from small towns in western India is, by turns, both riveting and wrenching. Drawing from previously unpublished archival material, Jha challenges the standard account of Gandhi's assassination, and offers a stunning view on the making of independent India. Born to Brahmin parents, Godse started off as a child mystic. However, success eluded him. The caste system placed him at the top of society but the turbulent times meant that he soon became a disaffected youth, desperately seeking a position in the infant nation. In such confusing times, Godse was one of hundreds, and later thousands, of young Indian men to be steered into the sheltering fold of early Hindutva, Indian nationalism. His association with early formations of the RSS and far-right thinkers such as Sarvakar proves that he was not working alone. Today he is considered to be a patriotic hero by many for his act of bravery, despite being found guilty in court and executed in 1949.

This book deals with the assassin (Nathuram Godse) and his motive for killing Gandhi by comparing Godse's case against Gandhi with criticism and historical data.

It is common knowledge that Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead in 1948 by a Hindu militant, shortly after India had both gained her independence and lost nearly a quarter of her territory to the new state of Pakistan. Lesser known is assassin Nathuram Godse's motive. Until now, no publication has dealt with this question, except for the naked text of Godse's own defence speech during his trial. It didn't save him from the hangman, but still contains substantive arguments against the facile glorification of the Mahatma. Dr Koenraad Elst compares Godse's case against Gandhi with criticisms voiced in wider circles, and with historical data known at the time or brought to light since. While the Mahatma was extolled by the Hindu masses, political leaders of divergent persuasions who had had dealings with him were less enthusiastic. Their sobering views would have become the received wisdom about the Mahatma if he hadn't been martyred. Yet, the author also presents some new considerations in Gandhi's defence from unexpected quarters.