A right-wing Hindu nationalist political party in India has laid the foundation stone for a temple to honour Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse.
After years of petitioning by the Hindu Mahasabha (All-India Hindu Grand-Assembly) Gwalior district administration refused permission for the construction of a temple.
However the party has already laid the foundation stone in Gwalior’s Daulatgunj area, and today it unveiled a statue of Gandhi’s assassin in its office where Godse is said to have stayed for a week while planning the murder.
The Hindu Maha Sabha (All-India Hindu Grand-Assembly) with its 32-inch golden bust of Godse at its office in the Daulatganj area of Gwalior city
In January 1948, over 2 million people gathered to attend the funeral of India’s father, Gandhi
Mug shot of the Indian political activist Nathuram Vinayak Godse, the killer of Gandhi sentenced to hanging
Godse was convicted of killing Gandhi and hanged on November 15, 1949, but to this day his Hindu nationalist supporters observe the day as ‘sacrifice day’.
‘We had sought land from the Gwalior administration for a grand temple in memory of Nathuram Godse. Our plea was denied, so we have decided to build a temple inside our Daulatgunj office in Gwalior, ‘ Jaiveer Bhardwaj, a Hindu Mahasabha leader, told the Telegraph newspaper.
The CM has the name of Mahatma Gandhi on his lips, but in his heart he has Godse
Even with India now under the Hindu nationalist leadership of Narendra Modi and the BJP, the majority of Indians – including Modi – continue to regard Gandhi as the ‘Father of the Nation’. Gandhi is celebrated in India and around the world as a symbol of non-violence and a champion for those fighting social oppression in all its forms.
Men climbing telecom towers to see the procession during Gandhi’s funeral
Gandhi’s body strewn with flowers during his funeral in 1948
Nathuram Godse, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was an ex Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member from Pune. He was motivated to kill Gandhi because he believed – as many in India still do – that Gandhi was conceding too much to Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muslim majority Pakistan during Partition negotiations.
Godse shot India’s founding father Mahatma Gandhi in the chest three times at point-blank range in New Delhi on 30 January 1948, a year after Gandhi led India to Independence from British rule.
Times of India newspaper the day after Gandhi’s assassination
Parties like the Hindu Maha Sabha have long championed the rehabilitation of Godse, and they now seek to portray him as a patriot alongside the likes of Bhagat Singh and Mangal Pandey.
In 2014, following the BJP’s rise to power, the Hindu Mahasabha asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to erect a bust of Godse while in office.
The Hindu Maha Sabha have been actively applying for land to build a temple in the name of Godse, but the application for land has so far been rejected by the district administration.
According to Jaiveer Bhardwaj of the Maha Sabha, a decision to construct the temple in the Daulatganj area was taken after the administration rejected its application for land.
The Hindu Maha Sabha have long championed the rehabilitation of Godse, and they now seek to portray him as a patriot alongside the likes of Bhagat Singh (right) and Mangal Pandey
A statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi is pictured in Parliament Square, London. Gandhi is loved around the world
Madhya Pradesh leader of the opposition, Ajay Singh, has hit out at chief minister Shivraj Singh, alleging that the state government is providing tacit support to the killer of the father of the nation.
‘The CM has the name of Mahatma Gandhi on his lips, but in his heart he has Godse.
‘How else is it possible that the supporters of Godse are openly laying a foundation stone for a temple in his name,’ Ajay Singh told reporters.
Mahatma Ghandi enjoys a joke with his two granddaughters Ava and Manu at Birla House
The gun and one of the bullets with which Godse assassinated Gandhi. ‘Bapu’ is the Hindi word for ‘father’
Singh also alleged that the government has refused to take any action against those who desecrate the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
Pradesh Congress chief spokesman told the Times of India: ‘It is an anti-national act, and punitive action should be taken against the perpetrators.
‘We suspect a well-planned conspiracy behind the burning of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Morena on November 1 and the installation of Godse’s statue a fortnight later’.
Gandhi stands between Lord and Lady Mountbatten in 1947
Twitter reacts
Users on Twitter took the news of the ‘Godse Temple’ with a mixture of joy, anger and bemusement.
An informal poll run by user @IndianInterest asked followers if Godse was, ‘a hero who sacrificed his life for the country? OR A villain; a criminal who assassinated the Father of the Nation?’
Of 4103 votes, 81% of voters on the anonymous and informal poll claimed that Godse was a hero.
User @GouravJaiswal argued that ‘India is the first country to worship terrorists’ while alternatively @TheVedicMind claimed that Gandhi was killed for his, ‘dualistic character and discrimination against Hindus’.
