According to The Guardian, the assassination took place while Mahatma Gandhi was on his way to his daily prayer meeting in New Delhi. He died at 5:45 pm at the age of 78.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – India’s national hero was assassinated on January 30, 1948. On his way to a place of prayer, he was shot three times in the chest by a murderer named Nathuram Godse.
For many Indians, Mahatma Gandhi is a great soul. He is known worldwide for leading the Indian independence movement against the British Empire. His death came less than a year after India gained independence.
The news of the assassination had a profound impact around the world. Presidents and prime ministers from many countries sent condolences to India. The theme of all the condolences, whether from politicians or ordinary people, was the same: “a great man among men,” “a saint,” or “irreplaceable.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin was 36-year-old Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. He hated Mahatma Gandhi because he advocated unity between Hindus and Muslims in India, Biography reported.
About 10 days before his assassination, Madanlal Pahwa, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, blew himself up at one of the spiritual leader’s prayer meetings. “Do not do this,” Mahatma Gandhi pleaded after the bombing. “Hinduism cannot be saved by such acts. I maintain that if Hinduism is to be saved, it can only be through such acts as I am doing.”
However, nearly two weeks later, Godse approached Mahatma Gandhi and shot him in front of about 1,000 people. By then, Gandhi was very weak from years of fasting. He went to the prayer meeting with the help of his two nieces.
After people nearby witnessed what Godse had done, they beat him with sticks until the police took him away.
When news of the assassination reached Bombay (now Mumbai), riots broke out. In 1949, India executed Godse and his accomplices by hanging.
