By Taha Amin Mazumder,
New Delhi, 19 Oct 2015: Just like Mahatma Gandhi’s way of peace remains relevant even after over 67 years since his assassination, his killer Nathuram Godse’s name also does not seem to fade away. Radical Indian organization Hindu Mahasabha, which made headlines last year also with its plans to build temples in the name of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Godse, now wants to commemorate Godse’s hanging day — 15 November — as “balidan diwas” or “the day of sacrifice.”
According to media reports, Chandraprakash Kaushik, president of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha of which Godse was a member, said the organization has asked its offices across the country to be ready for a “district level” commemoration on 15 November.
Godse was hanged in Punjab’s Ambala jail on 15 November 1949. He had assasinated Gandhi on 30 January 1948.
The Mahasabha’s plans for the day include distribution of abridged copies of the book “Gandhivadh Kyon” written by Gopal Godse, Nathuram’s brother and another accused in the Gandhi assassination case, and installation of 15 statues of Godse’s in different parts of the country, three in the national capital Delhi.
Kaushik said, “Godse was much more patriotic than Gandhi. I am very sure many people in the country think so.”
While Godse’s name comes as a mere uneasy reference to the Gandhi assassination, beyond Hindu Mahasabha and other such radical organizations, Mahatma Gandhi is considered the “Father of the Nation” in India and is a world-acclaimed figure for his leeway of fighting violence with non-violence.
Gandhians’ takes on Mahasabha bid
Interestingly on the Hindu Mahasabha’s bid to extol Godse as a godly figure above Gandhi, Gandhians seem to be the least abated. Talking to IndiaTomorrow.net over phone today, Justice C.S. Dharmadhikari said, “This is of course an attempt to glorify Godse. But this way no one can end the way of peace. This has been going on for a long time. Jesus was killed, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, Mahatma Gandhi was killed, but the process of peace still prevails.”
Justice Dharmadhikari is a recipient of India’s third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan, which he was awarded in 2004. Padma Bhushan comes after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awards, but comes before the Padma Shri.
Responding to the query why there is a sudden spurt of attempts to “glorify” Godse for the past couple of years and if this may canonize Godse, the retired Chief Justice of Bombay High Court said, “Who says these attempts are successful? The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has distanced itself from this attempt of the Hindu Mahasabha, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has not endorsed the attempt. So even if there is or have been attempts, Godse cannot be canonized at all.”
Tuning the issue with a witty intonation, Faisal Khan, leader of the Gandhian group Khudai Khidmatgar, said, “It’s indeed good that these types of things are happening. They (Hindu Mahasabha) are exposing their true nature. We have been chanting for a long time ‘Gandhi hum sharminda hain, tere qatil zinda hain (Gandhi we are ashamed, that your killers have still survived.). People didn’t get it, but now after these kinds of incidents, it has become obvious who were behind the assassination of Gandhiji.”
Some activists, however, responded against the Godse issue strongly. Eminent Gandhian and 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient Sandeep Pandey said, “It’s absolutely unfortunate that such attempts are being made. These attempts are showing India in a bad light to the world. Many in the world scenerio, even in small towns of the West, in the United States, know India as Gandhi’s country. They know Gandhiji as a symbol of peace. World renowned leaders like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. followed Gandhiji’s ideology. It’s unfortunate that some people prefer the killer Godse over a pioneer of the peace movement like Gandhiji.”
Pandey, however, thinks the media should not have paid attention to these peripheral attempts by Godse followers. “I think these people should not be paid attention to at all. The media are highlighting them, and that’s why they are getting importance. The press should have ignored them completely,” added the Magsaysay award winner today while talking to IndiaTmorrow.net.
Interestingly, unlike Justice Dharmadhikari who thinks the BJP has been keeping itself away from the Godse-revival issue, Pandey thinks the onus for the sudden spurt of attempts to make Godse important in India goes actually to the ruling party and its Prime Minister Narendra Modi both.
“This is happening coincidentally with the rise of the BJP to the power. Because of BJP and Modi, these all nonsense can go on. This did not happen during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. It’s happening now because the fringe elements have got a renewed sense of courage with Modi’s hard Hinduvta stand,” said Pandey.
With a steep rise of violence in India, particularly communal violence, while Mahatma Gandhi remains a key figure of reference in terms of the battle for peace and tolerance, his killer Godse also probably still remains important — albeit as a reminder that the way of peace is not an easy one.
