How a one-eyed man foiled Nathuram Godse's plot to kill Mahatma Gandhi
Nathuram Godse was born on this day (May 19, 1910) in Baramati into a Chittapawan Brahmin family. His parents had lost three sons before him. Believing it would cast off the curse on the family, they put a nath (ring) in the fourth son's nose and started dressing him up as a girl. The boy came to be known as Nathmal in the village but was renamed Nathuram after his younger brother was born, ending, the family believed, the curse.advertisementSent to an English medium school, Nathuram failed to clear matric. To make ends meet, he opened a tailoring shop, which was soon shut down. At the age of 22, he joined the RSS, writes Justice GD Khosla, the judge who heard Godse's review petition in Mahatma Gandhi's murder case. "A few years later he shifted to Pune and became secretary of a local branch of the Hindu Mahasabha," according to Khosla. (Murder of the Mahatma: GD Khosla)In his radical Hindu extremist avatar, Godse was to pump three bullets from his Baretta into Mahatma Gandhi's chest on January 30, 1948. Godse and his men originally planned to kill Gandhi on January 20. But their attempt turned into a comedy of errors that extended Mahatma Gandhi's life by ten days.MAHATMA & THE MURDERERSadvertisementOn January 12, Mahatma Gandhi, 78, decided to fast until communal harmony was restored in India. He was, as Ramchandra Guha writes, also upset with the Government's decision to "withhold from Pakistan its share of the sterling balances owed by Britain to (undivided) India after the war". (Gandhi, The Years That Changed India)The next day, four men gathered in the Pune office of the Hindu Rashtra, a newspaper co-founded by Godse. Angry with Gandhi's fast-unto-death, Godse announced it was time to kill Gandhi.THE ASSASSIN'S CREEDGodse's partner, a dapper man who loved whiskey and women, Narayan Apte, had been upset with Gandhi for many years. The two partners were joined by Vishnu Karkare, a Mahasabha member who owned a guest house, and Madanlal Pahwa, a refugee who blamed Gandhi for the Partition.The quartet soon had two more members. Digambar Badge, a petty arms dealer, for money, and Gopal Godse, who wanted to help his elder brother.The six were to depart for Delhi via Bombay in three batches. Karkare and Badge by the Frontier Mail, Nathuram and Apte were to board Air India's flight number DC3 to Delhi and Gopal and Badge decided to take a fast passenger. They were to meet at the Hindu Mahasabha guest house near New Delhi's Birla Temple.advertisementBut, there was a problem – Gandhi was already dying.THURSDAY, JANUARY 14By that evening, Gandhi's health had deteriorated. Treating doctors believed he had only 24 hours if the fast was not broken. "Death is a great friend, it relieves us of all pain," Gandhi announced, refusing to budge. When warned of imminent death, he asked, "Does your science really know everything? Have you forgotten Lord Krishna's words in the Gita — I bear the whole world in an infinitely small part of my being?" (Freedom at Midnight: Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre)JAN 18-19, NEW DELHIGandhi broke his six-day fast after leaders from various communities, including the RSS, pledged to restore peace. A few days ago, the Indian government had also announced it would release the funds promised to Pakistan. Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali Jinnah had also accepted Gandhi's desire to visit Pakistan to "end hatred and violence". "I still have a lot to achieve," Gandhi said, agreeing to take orange juice. The murder plan was on.The next morning, the assassins gathered in a secluded area with a thick overgrowth to test their weapons. One of their two desi pistols failed to fire. The other missed the target by several feet. "This will kill us faster than Gandhi," one of them said ruefully. But, there was an alternate plan.advertisementJAN 20, NEW DELHIAfter spending the night drinking whiskey (Apte and Karkare), coffee, and putting together raw grenades, Godse and his men left for Birla House, where Gandhi was to hold a prayer meeting.Apte, a father of two, believed he'd be back in Bombay, where he planned to meet an air hostess – the latest among his girlfriends. He was convinced that the plan was fool-proof and Mahatma Gandhi would be blown to pulp.But their plan was only to provide a brief scare.JAN 20, THE D-DAYMahatma Gandhi addressed the gathering from a raised platform. Behind him were quarters for the staff, from where a ventilator opened right behind Gandhi's seat. It was decided Badge would enter the quarters dressed as a photographer and lob a grenade at Mahatma Gandhi through the slit.Gopal and Karkare were tasked to approach Mahatma Gandhi from the front and attack with grenades and pistols. Godse and Apte were to coordinate the assault. The signal was to the crude bomb with a timer that Pahwa was to place near the boundary wall.advertisementCOMEDY OF ERRORSWhat happened next is defined in detail in Freedom at Midnight. Despite the sinister plot, it reads like a farce. Here is the gist of it.Around 5 pm, Pahwa placed a time bomb around 150-metres from the dias. A grenade bulging from his pocket, Badge started moving towards the room at the rear, but froze. The occupant of the room was one-eyed. 'Bad omen," he declared, refusing to see reason. Finally, he swapped places with Gopal Godse, and decided to fire at Mahatma Gandhi from the front.But Gopal was so short that he couldn't reach the small opening. He dragged a jute cot to gain elevation, but the strings broke. Unable to get a clear view, he gave up. As he tried to step out, he realised the lock had malfunctioned, leaving him in a dark room with no clue about what was happening outside.When the time bomb went off, it created the expected melee. Unperturbed, Gandhi tried to calm them down, saying there was nothing to worry about. Convinced that the time had come, Godse signalled to Apte, who relayed the message to Badge, who was standing closest to Gandhi.advertisementBadge, a petty businessman, stood frozen. Suddenly, the enormity of the crime dawned on him. Realising he was just a trader, not an assassin, he decamped.Meanwhile, a young girl identified Pahwa as the man who had placed the time bomb. Her screams drew the attention of the gathering. Pahwa was pinned to the ground, beaten by the crowd, and arrested by the police. Seeing their accomplice in the police net, the others fled to their hideout – the Marina Hotel near Connaught Place.JAN 21, NEW DELHIMahatma Gandhi addressed the incident at his prayer meeting. "I displayed no bravery. I thought it was part of army practice somewhere. I only came to know later that it was a bomb and that it might have killed me if God had not willed it that I should live. But if a bomb explodes in front of me and if I am not scared and succumb, then you will be able to say that I died with a smile on my face. Today, I do not yet deserve to be so praised. You should not have any kind of hate against the person who was responsible for this. He had taken it for granted that I am an enemy of Hinduism". (Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, his People, and an Empire, Rajmohan Gandhi)Must Watch
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