24 Facts About Nathuram Godse

Nathuram Vinayak Godse was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

Nathuram Godse was a Hindu nationalist from Maharashtra who shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range at a multi-faith prayer meeting in Birla House in New Delhi on 30 January 1948.

Nathuram Godse had failed in two unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi in 1944 before he succeeded the third time.

Nathuram Godse had plotted the assassination with Narayan Apte and six others.

Nathuram Vinayakrao Godse was born into a Maharashtrian Chitpavan Brahmin family.

Nathuram Godse's father, Vinayak Vamanrao Godse, was a postal employee; his mother was Lakshmi.

Nathuram Godse was given his name because of an unfortunate incident.

Nathuram Godse attended the local school at Baramati through the fifth standard, after which he was sent to live with an aunt in Pune so that he could study at an English-language school.

Nathuram Godse dropped out of high school and became an activist with Hindu nationalist organisations Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha, although the exact dates of his membership are uncertain.

Nathuram Godse joined RSS in Sangli in 1932 as a boudhik karyawah, and simultaneously remained a member of the Hindu Mahasabha, both right-wing organisations.

Nathuram Godse often wrote articles in newspapers to publicise his thoughts.

In 1946, Nathuram Godse claimed to have left the RSS and moved to the Hindu Mahasabha over the issue of the partition of India.

However, historical sources do not corroborate this claim; an investigation published by The Caravan in January 2020 revealed that up until his final days, Nathuram Godse was listed as a member in records kept by the RSS of meetings that took place long after he was supposed to have left the organisation.

Nathuram Godse's family has said that he had never left the RSS, highlighting that he held membership at the RSS as well as the Hindu Mahasabha.

In May 1944, Nathuram Godse attempted to assassinate Gandhi with a knife.

Nathuram Godse led a group of 15 to 20 young men who rushed at Gandhi during a prayer meeting at Panchgani.

Nathuram Godse was released due to Gandhi's own policy of declining to press criminal charges.

On September 1944, Nathuram Godse again led another group to block Gandhi's passage from Sevagram to Mumbai.

Nathuram Godse was released again owing to Gandhi's policy of not pressing criminal charges.

At 05:05 pm on 30 January 1948, as Gandhi made his way to a prayer meeting on a raised lawn behind Birla House, a mansion in New Delhi, where he was staying, Nathuram Godse stepped out of the crowd flanking his path to the dais.

Reiner reported later that in the moments before he apprehended him, Nathuram Godse looked a little stunned at how easily he had carried out his plan.

Nathuram Godse was put on trial at the Punjab High Court, at Peterhoff, Shimla.

Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy is a two-act play written in the Marathi language written by Pradeep Dalvi.

In 2014, following the Bharatiya Janata Party's rise to power, the Hindu Mahasabha began attempts to rehabilitate Nathuram Godse and portray him as a patriot.