Gandhi Falls to Bullet: India Mourns Father of Nation
Nathuram Godse stepped out of a prayer meeting crowd at Birla House in New Delhi on January 30, 1948, and fired three bullets from a Beretta pistol into Mahatma Gandhi's chest at point-blank range. Gandhi fell with his hands folded, reportedly uttering 'He Ram' (Oh God). Godse was a Hindu nationalist who believed Gandhi had weakened India by being too conciliatory toward Muslims during Partition. The assassination triggered massive riots and a crackdown on Hindu extremist organizations. Over two million people lined the five-mile funeral procession route through Delhi. World leaders from Einstein to Mountbatten issued tributes. Godse was hanged on November 15, 1949. Gandhi's death elevated him from a controversial political figure into an almost universally revered symbol of nonviolent resistance, a status he holds today in the imaginations of billions despite his complex personal history.
January 30, 1948
78 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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