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The Assassination of Gandhi: Left Reflections
On January 30, 1948, Mohandas K Gandhi, widely known as Mahatma Gandhi, was shot point blank and killed by Nathuram Godse after a prayer meeting in Delhi.
Godse was closely affiliated with the RSS, the core Hindutva organization that has underpinned the long and steady rise of Hindu nationalism. While the RSS was temporarily banned after the assassination, its reach can be illustrated by the fact that India’s current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has been an RSS member since the 1970s.
The RSS today is confusing in how it talks about this political murder. It would be easy to miss their role in Gandhi’s assassination.
At times, true to its ideological perspectives, the RSS and its affiliates want to embrace Godse.
Consider, for instance, this report on a re-enactment of the Gandhi assassination in 2019 by the Hindu Mahasabha, one of the oldest Hindutva groups, including the praise of “Mahatma Nathuram Godse” in a clear rebuke to Gandhi (“Mahatma” means “great soul.”)
Hindutva voices regularly call Godse a deshbhakt — a patriot, one devoted to the nation. This is not news at all to anyone following debates in Indian media and in families anytime the topic of Gandhi comes up.
Godse defending his actions: “Gandhi is being…
