Mahatma Gandhi Death Anniversary: 5 Things To Know About Bapu's Assassination

India on Thursday is commemorating the 72nd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, popularly known as Bapu, who played a pivotal role in spearheading India's independence movement. During the pre-Independence era, Gandhi infused millions of Indians with a sense of tolerance and resilience to fight any form of oppression or violence imposed by the mighty British empire. He builded India's entire freedom campaign around two of his much-revered principles 'Satyagraha' and 'Ahimsa'. While Satyagraha meant to appeal to, insistence on, or reliance on the Truth, Ahimsa was centred around imbibing non-violence as a combative tool to thwart any act of force or violence. He not only is a towering figure in India's political history but also cemented his place among leading statesmen of the world for his noble philosophy towards humanity in general.

Gandhiji's greatness lay in his simplicity towards life and high intellectual prowess. To sum up his personality in the best possible way, the great American scientist Albert Einstein had this said about the 'Naked Saint' - ‘Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.

5 things you need to know about Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination

• Before January 30, 1948, there were five failed attempts to assassinate Gandhi - in June 1934, in July and September 1944, September 1946 and January 20, 1948. Nathuram Godse was involved in three of those attempts.
• Gandhi had a premonition about his impending death and talked about it dozens of times before that fateful day. On the decisive morning, Gandhi handed over the final draft of his future plan for the Indian National Congress.
• Despite several warnings to Mahatma Gandhi from the government, he told the authorities that he does not want security. Hence, his assassination could have been averted.
• The first attempt on Gandhi's life in 1934 was the Hindutva's response to the dominant political articulations of nationhood, caste and economic and other democratic rights which challenged the idea of a hegemonic and authoritarian Hindu Rashtra.
• There are several reports linking the BJP and the RSS with the assassination of Gandhi. In a related note, KB Hedgewar, the founder of the Sangh, was one of the secretaries of the Hindu Mahasabha.