Today’s History: Gandhiji who arrived for prayer at Birla Bhavan was assassinated, Nathuram Godse fired three bullets

On 30 January 1948, Mahatma Gandhi’s day in Delhi started like a normal day. Gandhiji, who was often on time for the prayer meeting of Birla House, was a little late that day. When he reached Birla House, Gurbachan Singh came to pick him up. Gandhiji went inside towards the place of prayer.

He greeted the crowd with folded hands. Then Nathuram Godse bowed towards him from the left side. Manu felt that he was trying to touch Gandhiji’s feet. Abha angrily said that she was already late, so that her path should not be hindered. Godse pushes Manu. The rosary and the book fell from his hand.

She bent down to pick them up when Godse took out the pistol and fired three bullets one after the other into Gandhi’s chest and stomach. ‘Hey Ram…’ came out of Gandhiji’s mouth and he fell on the ground. He was taken inside in a wounded condition, but within a short time the doctors declared Gandhiji dead.

Earlier on January 20, 1948, he was attacked at Birla House. The next day it was published in the newspapers that a person named Madan Lal Pahwa had burst crackers and that he also intended to hurt Gandhiji in some way. On the same day, in the prayer meeting, Gandhiji said that whoever had tried this, he should be forgiven on my behalf. Gandhiji’s order was that no policeman would attend his prayer meeting, but when he was attacked on January 30, some people informed the police.

8 people were tried in the murder case
Eight people were tried for Gandhi’s assassination. These included Nathuram Godse, Narayan Apte, Vishnu Karkare, Gopal Godse, Madanlal, Veer Savarkar, Dattatreya Parchure, Digambar Badge and his servant Shankar Kistaiya. Among them, Bage became a government witness.

Godse and Apte were hanged on 15 November 1949 after being convicted for Gandhi’s assassination. This was the first death sentence of independent India. Karkare, Madanlal, Gopal Godse, Dr. Parchure and Shankar were given life imprisonment. He was acquitted as there was no evidence against Veer Savarkar.

Important events of 30 January in India and the world are as follows:

1997: 49 years after the death of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, his ashes were immersed on the banks of the Sangam.

1971: Indian Airlines Fokker Friendship plane hijacked.

1957: UNO instructs South Africa to reconsider apartheid policy.

1951: Prakash Javadekar, an Indian politician and now the country’s cabinet minister, was born.

1933: Hitler, the world’s most famous dictator, officially took over as the Chancellor of Germany.

1913: Amrita Shergill, India’s first female painter, was born.

1911: Canadian Naval Service renamed. It was replaced by the Royal Canadian Navy.

1890: Birth of Jaishankar Prasad, Hindi litterateur and author of poetry collections like Kamayani.

1649: Emperor Charles I of England was hanged.