Nathuram Godse: Know the man who assassinated Bapu

Nathuram Vinayak Godse assassinated Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January 1948. He shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range. As per some documents written by Godse the primary reason behind his assassination of Gandhi was the latter’s adherence to the unjustified demand by Jinnah for issuing Rs. 55 crore for Pakistan. He was sentenced to death after executing Bapu.

Things to know about Nathuram Godse:

• Nathuram Godse was one of the strongest supporters of Gandhi during his youth days and even worshipped him for his ideologies related to life and nation. He bred no personal hatred against Gandhi and even bowed before the Mahatma during the morning prayers, just before he fired shots at him.
• He was among the very few who believed in the ideology of Vir Savarkar in a real way and moulded his thinking accordingly. Though he followed writings of Gandhi too, he was more influenced by Savarkar’s works
• Nathuram Godse even ran a newspaper named “Agrani” along with his partner in crime Apte. He was the editor of the newspaper and wrote articles for it. 
• Nathuram Godse has been branded as a Hindu fanatic by successive governments of the country. Godse joined a Hindu political outfit and  left it because he did not find it militant enough and entered the Hindu Mahasabha.