By the time I was born in 1951, Mahatma Gandhi was dead for three years. He was killed on January 30, 1948. Everyone knows who killed Gandhi. Not many know why he was killed. Every school child in India- at least of my generation- knows he was killed by Nathuram Godse. But who was Godse? And why did he kill someone who was called The Father of the Nation? Not too many know his story. I didn’t- to be honest- until I came across ” The Men Who Killed Gandhi“.
The book was written by one of my favourite authors, Manohar Malgonkar and published first in 1978. Malgonkar , you will know, is famous for books like ” The Princes”, ” The Bend in the Ganges” etc. In 2008, Pramod Kapoor of Roli Books brought out a new edition with unpublished documents and photographs which make very interesting reading.
Strongly recommended as a must read for anyone who is interested in Indian history. You may not agree with Godse’s motivation but he stood by his objective. He did not take the easy way out and shoot himself or attempt to hide. His story is captured in what he had to say in his defence in his trial.
Prem Rao : Stories from a Story Teller 