In Meerut, Hindu group launches Nathuram Godse website
Leaders of a Hindu group launched a website at an event in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut on Sunday to commemorate the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, who was hanged to death on November 15, 1949.
Leaders of a Hindu group launched a website at an event in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut on Sunday to commemorate the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, who was hanged to death on November 15, 1949.
Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) and its frontal organisation Vishwa Hindu Peeth also performed a yagna at the Mahasabha office at Sharda road on the occasion. ABHM’s national general secretary Munna Kumar Sharma, patron Ashok Sharma, Viswa Hindu Peeth’s national president Acharya Madanji, Nathuram Godse Brigade president Swami Omji, Mahasabha’s city president Bharat Rajput, district president Abhishek Aggarwal and other leaders and activists offered ‘ahuti’ in the yagna in the presence of police officials.
The website www.nathuramgodse.in has been designed by the IT cell of Vishwa Hindu Peeth, said Acharya Madanji, who launched the website. “The objective of the website is to make people aware about Godse and the facts behind assassination of Gandhi.”
“Godse was not a criminal”, said Ashok Sharma, emphasising that people must know his statement recorded in the court after his arrest on charges of assassinating Gandhi . “He sacrificed his life at the age of 39 and we call him a criminal”, he said.
On January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi fell to his assassin Nathuram Vinayak Godse’s bullets during an evening prayer ceremony at Birla House in Delhi. Perched atop a gate of Birla House, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru announced to the world the “light has gone out of our lives”.
Eight men were convicted in the murder trial inside Red Fort by a special court, constituted by an order of the central government. Godse and co-conspirator Narayan Apte were hanged for the murder of the Father of the Nation on November 15, 1949.
“I do say that my shots were fired at the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin and destruction to millions of Hindus,” Godse, an active member of the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha, had told the court during his trial.
“I bear no ill will towards anyone individually, but I do say that I had no respect for the present government owing to their policy, which was unfairly favourable towards the Muslims. But at the same time I could clearly see that the policy was entirely due to the presence of Gandhi,” he had said.
After paying tributes to Godse with the website launch, Mahasabha demanded to include “true facts” behind Gandhi’s assassination in the syllabus of schools. “It would help students understand the circumstances which lead to Gandhi’s assassination,” said Abhishek Aggarwal, Mahasbah’s city president.
Mahasabha leaders had created hullabaloo in political circles last year in December when they made a futile attempt to install a statue of Nathuram Godse on their office premises. Later, police sealed the disputed site and the Mahasabha filed a petition in the high court against the district administration for preventing them from installing the statute.
A case was lodged against 16 leaders and activists of Mahasabha and its frontal organisations for sabotaging peace and harmony in the city. “The court has issued notice to the state government on the issue and we believe that the court will hand out a decision in our favour,” said Ashok Sharma, clarifying that the leaders were pursuing the case in the court.