Key Points
- Nathuram Godse assassinated Gandhi on January 30, 1948 in Delhi.
- Godse was a Hindu Mahasabha member and right-wing extremist.
- RSS claims Godse left organisation years before assassination.
- Family claims Godse never left RSS; final moments affirm loyalty.
- RSS rejects links; leaders call assassination “national tragedy.”
ISLAMABAD: On the anniversary of the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a new book, authored by Dhirendra Jha, has brought to light historical contentions regarding the relationship between his killer, Nathuram Godse, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
According to a detailed report by BBU Urdu, while the RSS has long maintained that Godse left the organisation years before the 1948 assassination, fresh evidence and historical accounts suggest he may have remained a member until the very end.
Godse, in his youth, was a shy young man who did not complete high school and earned his livelihood as a tailor and fruit seller before joining the Hindu Mahasabha. After becoming part of the organisation, he worked as an editor for its newspaper.
The assassination and its aftermath
On the evening of January 30, 1948, 38-year-old Nathuram Vinayak Godse shot Gandhi as he returned from a meeting in Delhi. Godse, a member of the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha, accused Gandhi of betraying Hindus by being “pro-Muslim” and soft towards Pakistan during the 1947 Partition.
Following a lengthy trial, Godse and his accomplice, Narayan Apte, were sentenced to death and hanged in November 1949. During his trial, Godse claimed he acted alone and insisted he had severed ties with the RSS long before the murder — a stance the RSS has consistently used to distance itself from the crime.
Contradictory claims surface
Dhirendra Jha, in his recent book, challenges the official version of history. Per the BBC Urdu report, Jha argues there is no documentary evidence to prove Godse was ever expelled or formally resigned from the RSS.
The report highlights several key aspects of Godse’s affiliations and final moments. In a statement given to police before the trial, Godse reportedly admitted that he was working for both the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS simultaneously.
His brother, Gopal Godse, who died in 2005, and his nephew have previously claimed that Nathuram never left the RSS. According to other accounts, Godse’s early life and modest upbringing, combined with his exposure to the Mahasabha’s ideology, helped shape his radical views and eventual extremist path. Additionally, before being hanged on November 15, 1949, Godse reportedly recited the first four lines of the RSS prayer, which Jha suggests indicates his status as an active member.
The RSS response
The RSS has historically rejected these claims. Senior leader Ram Madhav has stated that linking Godse to the RSS is “lying for political purposes.” Early leaders of the organisation, such as MS Golwalkar, described the assassination as a “national tragedy,” while more recent figures like MG Vaidya labelled Godse a murderer who insulted the ideology of Hindutva.
Some historians, such as Vikram Sampath, argue that the relationship between the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS was actually fraught with tension and bitterness, suggesting they were distinct entities with different approaches to leadership and volunteerism.
Context of the controversy
The debate remains highly sensitive in India, as the RSS is the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While some right-wing groups have recently begun to praise Godse as a patriot, the RSS officially maintains that its ideology had no role in the tragedy that claimed the life of the man known globally as the “father of the nation.”
