Nathuram Godse's personality has always intrigued me. I have never been an ardent follower of Gandhi's principles;but am not a Gandhi hater. either. My feelings towards Gandhi have been quite ambivalent.I have been reading about Godse for quite some time now. Got to know certain trivia (I can't help it ;it runs in my blood;the tendency to remember such useless information!!) about him which adds a new dimension to his personality.
Not many people know that he was brought up in a devout god fearing Maharashtrian family; and was a follower of Gandhism since his childhood. He is said to have saved the life of a Harijan boy by diving into a well when everyone else stood around without offering help as they feared geting ostracized from their community.He was a school dropout but still a very well read man who is said to have had deep knowledge about Indian scriptures. He worked tirelessly to abolish untouchability; freely mingling with people of the lower castes much to the chagrin of his brethren. He had his own local vernacular newspaper called "Hindu Rashtra" the front page of which was left blank as a mark of protest against partition on 15th August 1947. what made such a person take the extreme step of assasinating the "Father of the nation"?I guess this link will provide us useful insights towards answering that question. It makes interesting reading . And sharpens the debate between the right wing "fanatics" and the pacifists even further.
http://ngodse.tripod.com/defense.htm.
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Just to add to that Srini,
One of his last wishes was that his ashes should be submerged into the waters only after India and Pak reunite.
Maybe, there was a belief at that point of time that the partition was only an ad-hoc measure and probably sensibility would prevail over religious fanaticism and the nation would be one strong, wholesome entity once again.
But just look at how things have turned out!!!
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