Gopal Godse: The Living Legend

Gopal with his wife Sindhu at his Poona apartment



Back in 1948, Gopal Godse was a 28-year-old storekeeper at an Indian Army barracks in Pune. He, together with his brother Nathuram, friend Narayan Apte and four others, masterminded the killing of Gandhi, the great bane of the nation.

Notwithstanding the fact that his own brother, friends, and he himself may be sent to the gallows, this act of bravery was carried out unflinchingly, for they new that it was, but a small price to pay for the sake of the nation. Gandhi HAD to pay for all his wrong doings. Nathuram and Narayan were subsequently sentenced to death, and hanged on 15th November 1949. Gopal and four others were sentenced to life in prison. He was released in 1967. Gopal Godse is the only surviving member. Since then, he has been arrested and harassed by the police several times for expressing his sentiments against Gandhi.

An urn kept in his house, contains the ashes of his brother Nathuram. It was his dying wish that they be immersed in the river Indus, when India stands undivided again. Let us hope that this great sacrifice made by these men is not in vain.

Below are some of his recollections and notable quotes taken from some news articles and

Gopal Godse offered a razor-sharp recollection of his own role in the killing, from the moment when Nathuram Godse asked him if he would participate - "I gave my consent immediately" - to a first botched attempt on 20 January 1948, 10 days before the assassination. On that occasion, the conspirators detonated explosives in a wall at the New Delhi house with a view to drawing people away from Gandhi, but stopped short of tossing a grenade at their intended victim for fear of killing bystanders.

"Gandhi used to claim the Partition would be over his dead body. So after Partition when he didn't die, we killed him. "

"You know, I had mixed feelings," he said. "I knew I was going to lose a brother; and I had no doubt that I was going to be arrested and share his fate. On the other hand, our target had been fulfilled. We had done away with somebody who was not only satisfied with the creation of Pakistan; he wanted to see Pakistan progress; he was in fact the father of Pakistan. "

"So if you ask me, did I feel any repentance, my reply is no -- not in the least. We had taken the decision fully knowing what we were doing. We knew if we allowed this person to live any longer, he would do more and more harm to Hindus, and that we could not allow it."

"Our love for the motherland made us do it. We are not ashamed of it. Gandhi should have been honest to admit that his life was a failure. "

"You see, right from Pakistan and Bangladesh every Muslim is a converted Hindu. Gandhi's appeasement attitude (towards the Muslims) went far too much. That was why we killed him. Two hundred and fifty thousand Hindus were killed in Noakhali in October 1946. Hindu women were forced to remove their sindhoor and do Muslim rituals. And Gandhi said, 'Hindus must bow their heads if Muslims want to kill them. We should follow the principle of ahimsa (non-violence).' How can any sensible