The Week India — November 12, 2017

BY NIRMAL JOVIAL

M

ahatma Gandhi became the target of

his killers just 17 days before his death.

Had it all gone as per plan, he would

have died on January 20.

On January 12, 1948, Gandhi announced a fast

with two objectives: to make the government pay

Pakistan its share of 0 55 crore from the cash balance

in the Reserve Bank of India; and to foster friendship

between Muslims and Hindus who were killing each

other. India was at war with Pakistan over Kashmir.

Seven million refugees had arrived, angry and miser-

able. Many of them had seen their family members

being murdered, raped or forcibly converted.

On hearing about Gandhi’s announcement,

Nathuram Vinayak Godse and Narayan

Dattatray Apte, editor and manager, respec-

tively, of the Marathi newspaper Hindu Rashtra

of Poona, made the most important decision of

their lives—to kill the Mahatma. Active in the

Hindu Mahasabha, they had been discussing

other ideas to avenge the Hindus—ambushing

an ammunition train or attacking the Hyderabad

state in commando style. But on January 13, they

decided to kill Gandhi.

On the same day, they called on Digamber

Badge, an arms supplier in Poona, who agreed

to deliver grenades and explosives to them in

Bombay. Gopal Godse, Nathuram’s younger

brother who was in the army’s ordnance service,

offered a revolver for the mission. On January

14, Nathuram and Apte went to Bombay by

train. The actress Shanta Modak (Bimba), whom

Apte befriended on the train, dropped them

at Savarkar Sadan, Hindu Mahasabha leader

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s house in Dadar.

Savarkar was so revered by Nathuram and Apte

A hit and a miss

Mysteriously, the police failed to pursue

the assassins after their first attempt ten

days before the murder

Killers’ smile: (First row, from left) Nathuram,

Apte, Karkare; (second row) Badge, Madanlal,

Gopal; (third row) Shankar, Savarkar

ALAMY

(^40) THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 12, 2017
COVER STORY