Nathuram Godse, a proud Hindu from Maharashtra, saw India as the sacred cradle of Hindu dharma, a land of ancient wisdom and fearless warriors. On January 30, 1948, he shot Gandhi, not out of personal hatred, but from a burning belief that Gandhi’s actions were tearing the nation apart. In his five-hour court statement on November 8, 1948, at the Red Fort trial, Godse spoke with calm clarity, bowing to the judge, his words raw and unfiltered. Preserved in May It Please Your Honour and echoed in Why I Assassinated Mahatma Gandhi and G.D. Khosla’s The Murder of the Mahatma, his testimony reveals a man torn between respect for Gandhi’s early work and horror at his later betrayals.
In simple English, this article explains why Godse acted—to protect 300 million Hindus and India’s future from ruin, including a feared Pakistan-Bangladesh corridor that could have made India terrorism’s biggest victim. This is the story of a patriot who chose dharma over praise, ready to face death for his nation. Even a judge like G.D. Khosla admitted the raw power of Godse’s words: “Such was the power and eloquence of this statement that… had the audience of that day been constituted into a jury… they would have brought a verdict of ‘not guilty’ by an overwhelming majority.” Godse’s truth shook the courtroom, proving his stand was not madness, but the cry of a wounded nation. At the end of the article, there’s official statement pdf of Nathuram Godse’s speech in the courtroom.
1. Roots in Hindu Pride: A Life of Duty
Godse, born in 1910 to a Brahmin family, grew up on the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and tales of Hindu heroes like Shivaji. His education sharpened his mind, rejecting superstition while embracing Hindu culture. He joined the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha, fighting casteism and uniting Hindus. Arrested in 1932 for the Vedokta Movement against untouchability and jailed over two years for the 1942 Quit India protests, he lived for India’s freedom and Hindu strength.
- Core Argument: Godse’s mission was to protect 300 million Hindus, one-fifth of humanity, whose strength he saw as India’s backbone. “To secure the freedom and just interests of some thirty crores of Hindus would constitute the well-being of all India,” he said in court.
- Key Quotes:
- “Born in a devotional Brahmin family, I instinctively came to revere Hindu religion, Hindu history and Hindu culture.”
- “All this reading and thinking led me to believe it was my first duty to serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen.”
- “Hindu Sanghatanist principles enabled me to work for unity among all sections of the Hindus.”
- Logical Flow: Godse traces his journey from a devout boy to a rational activist, framing his act as a duty to save Hindu India from disunity and weakness.
- Tone and Duty: Respectful and reflective, he bows to the court, showing his sacrifice was for dharma, not personal gain— a true son of Bharat, unbreakable in his resolve.
2. Early Respect for Gandhi: A Hero Turned Flawed
Godse admired Gandhi’s early fight against British oppression. In South Africa, Gandhi battled racial injustice, and after 1920, he led India’s freedom struggle with marches and boycotts, filling the void left by Tilak’s death.
- Core Argument: Gandhi’s early work united India, but his methods of truth (satya) and non-violence (ahimsa) were not new, and later became rigid traps. “His activities for public awakening were phenomenal,” Godse admitted, but flaws grew clear.
- Key Quotes:
- “Since the year 1920, after the demise of Lokmanya Tilak, Gandhi’s influence in the Congress first increased and then became supreme.”
- “His activities were reinforced by the slogan of truth and nonviolence which he paraded ostentatiously before the country.”
- “In fact, there is nothing new or original in them. They are implicit in every constitutional public movement.”
- Logical Flow: Godse praises Gandhi’s spark but sets up his critique, showing how early promise faded into harmful choices.
- Tone and Duty: Fair and appreciative, he honors Gandhi’s past to highlight the tragedy of his later path—Godse’s honesty proves his act was born of love for India, not blind rage.
3. The Sin of Appeasement: Muslims Over Hindus
Godse’s heart broke over Gandhi’s favoritism toward Muslims, which he called a “perverse attitude” that crushed Hindu pride. He saw it in small and big acts, from language to riots.
- Core Argument: Gandhi’s concessions, like pushing “Hindustani” over Hindi and staying silent on anti-Hindu violence, betrayed the majority. In 1946 Noakhali, where 5,000 Hindus were killed or raped, Gandhi’s inaction spoke louder than his words.
- Key Quotes:
- “Gandhi’s pro-Muslim policy is blatantly in his perverse attitude on the question of the national language of India.”
- “Everybody knows there is no language called Hindustani; it has no grammar; it has no vocabulary. It is a mere dialect.”
- “When Hindus in Pakistan were subjected to violent attacks he did not so much as utter a single word to protest and censure the Pakistan Government.”
- Logical Flow: Godse links cultural surrender (language) to physical harm (riots), arguing Gandhi’s bias left Hindus vulnerable.
- Tone and Duty: Angry yet precise, he speaks as a protector exposing a leader who favored one group over the nation—Godse’s fire was the voice of millions betrayed.
4. Partition: The Wound That Never Healed
The 1947 partition was Godse’s deepest pain. Gandhi, who once opposed dividing India, agreed to create Pakistan, leaving millions of Hindus as refugees facing rape and murder.
- Core Argument: Gandhi became the “Father of Pakistan,” not India, by bowing to Jinnah’s demands. “The infamous vivisection of the entire country was done in the name of non-violence,” Godse said, blaming Gandhi’s weakness for the split.
- Key Quotes:
- “After thirty years of undisputed dictatorship, he thought it was time to hand over the reins to his faithful followers.”
- “No settlement could be devised by the British from which our people would benefit.”
- “Gandhi is the father of Pakistan.”
- Logical Flow: He contrasts Gandhi’s anti-partition promises with his surrender, tying it to Hindu suffering and Nehru’s complicity.
- Tone and Duty: Somber and accusing, Godse mourns Akhand Bharat’s loss, acting to avenge its betrayal—his stand echoes the cries of slaughtered Hindus.
5. Non-Violence: A Trap That Weakened Hindus
Godse rejected Gandhi’s ahimsa as a dangerous dream that disarmed Hindus against real enemies. He leaned on Hindu epics to prove his point.
- Core Argument: Non-violence clashed with human nature and Hindu dharma, which honors warriors like Shri Ram and Krishna. By calling Shivaji and Guru Gobind Singh “misguided,” Gandhi shamed India’s strength.
- Key Quotes:
- “Non-violence of the contemplative order is as much practicable as non-stealing or non-coveting.”
- “Shri Ram lived in Treta Yuga and Krishna in Dwapara Yuga and both fought bloody battles against their enemies.”
- “Gandhi is being over-praised as the father of the non-violent movement.”
- Logical Flow: Godse uses scriptures to argue ahimsa’s flaws, linking it to Hindu deaths in riots due to forced passivity.
- Tone and Duty: Philosophical and urgent, he defends Hindu martial spirit as his duty to restore—Godse reclaimed the warrior’s honor Gandhi tried to bury.
6. Gandhi’s Iron Rule Over Congress: Silencing Voices
Godse saw Gandhi as a dictator in Congress, crushing debate since 1920. His “inner voice” overruled votes, ensuring only his vision prevailed.
- Core Argument: Gandhi’s control blocked Hindu leaders like Bose and Patel. In 1939, he forced Bose’s resignation as Congress president at Tripuri, proving his autocracy. “His word was law,” Godse said.
- Key Quotes:
- “From 1920 onwards, after the demise of Tilak, Gandhi’s influence in the Congress became supreme.”
- “Gandhi’s dictatorship in the Congress was complete and undisputed.”
- “The Congress has never demonstrated its democratic character by allowing real freedom of expression.”
- Logical Flow: Godse shows how Gandhi’s grip led to weak choices like Nehru’s rise, harming Hindu interests.
- Tone and Duty: Critical and defiant, he speaks for silenced nationalists fighting for dharma—Godse broke the chains Gandhi forged around true Indian voices.
7. The Final Betrayal: Fasting for Pakistan
Gandhi’s January 1948 fast to release 55 crore rupees to Pakistan—while they invaded Kashmir and Hindus starved as refugees—was, for Godse, the ultimate treason.
- Core Argument: Gandhi coerced India to fund an enemy, ignoring Hindu pain. “The nation was not consulted,” Godse said. He feared worse, like a Pakistan-Bangladesh corridor splitting India for terror.
- Key Quotes:
- “The nation was not consulted as to the wisdom of this gift.”
- “On January 13, 1948, he started a fast with the object of stopping riots.”
- “Gandhi is the father of Pakistan.”
- Logical Flow: Godse ties the fast to years of appeasement, warning of future dangers like a corridor that could bring bombs to every city.
- Tone and Duty: Resolute and protective, he acted to stop a leader betraying India’s survival—Godse’s bullets were the last shield for a dying nation.
8. Insights from The Murder of the Mahatma: A Nation’s Cry
G.D. Khosla’s The Murder of the Mahatma paints the 1947-48 chaos: Hindu refugees faced slaughter while Gandhi fasted for Pakistan’s funds and Muslim rights, ignoring Hindu agony. Godse’s months of preparation, rejecting legal aid, and failed January 20, 1948, attempt at Birla House show his act was no whim but a desperate stand. His Hindu Mahasabha protests, ignored by Gandhi, pushed him to act. The January 1948 Delhi riots fueled his fear that Gandhi’s policies would invite horrors like a corridor linking West and East Pakistan, opening India to endless terror. Khosla notes the courtroom’s silence as Godse spoke, his eloquence swaying hearts, proving his truth’s weight—even Khosla himself confessed the audience was so moved that if they were the jury, they would have acquitted Godse overwhelmingly, a testament to the undeniable justice in his words. (pdf of this is at the end of this article).
- Core Argument: Khosla’s account shows a nation raging at Gandhi’s bias, affirming Godse’s view that he saved India from further betrayal.
- Key Quotes (from Khosla’s observations):
- “Such was the power and eloquence of this statement that… had the audience of that day been constituted into a jury… they would have brought a verdict of ‘not guilty’ by an overwhelming majority.”
- “The audience was visibly and audibly moved.”
- Logical Flow: Adds real-world context—riots, refugee cries, ignored protests—showing Godse’s act as a response to a nation’s pain.
- Tone and Duty: Factual yet sympathetic to Godse’s resolve, echoing his duty to act when dialogue failed—Khosla’s own words crown Godse as a voice too powerful to silence.
9. More from May It Please Your Honour: Godse’s Raw Truth
May It Please Your Honour captures Godse’s unfiltered voice, written in Hindi and English, refined over months without a lawyer’s polish. His 1932 arrest for anti-untouchability work and two years in jail for Quit India show a patriot who lived his ideals. He details the 1946 Noakhali massacres—5,000 Hindus dead, countless violated—as proof of Gandhi’s failure to protect, silent during his Bengal tour. Godse recalls forcing Bose’s 1939 Tripuri exit, cementing Gandhi’s control. Appendices include Narayan Apte’s defense, crying to “save India from further vivisection,” showing a shared mission. His protests and newspaper were ignored, leaving no choice but action. (pdf of this is also at the end of this article).
- Core Argument: The transcript proves Godse’s act was a last resort after years of activism and silenced warnings, driven by Hindu suffering.
- Key Quotes:
- “I was arrested in 1932 for participating in the Vedokta Movement and again in 1942 for Quit India.”
- “In Noakhali, thousands of Hindus were massacred, but Gandhi toured without condemning the culprits.”
- “Gandhi forced Bose’s resignation at Tripuri, proving his dictatorship.”
- Logical Flow: Adds personal sacrifices and specific betrayals, strengthening Godse’s claim of acting for dharma.
- Tone and Duty: Raw and resolute, Godse’s own words show a man ready to die for India’s soul—his eloquence, as Khosla noted, would have freed him in the court of truth.
10. Author’s View: A True Hero’s Sacrifice
I believe some men act not for fame or glory, but for the sacred future of their nation and its unborn generations. Nathuram Godse was such a man. He followed his conscience, fearless of the hatred he knew would come, or the vicious lies spread by British and Leftist lobbies who painted him as a villain for decades. He cared nothing for their slander, choosing to shield India’s soul from betrayal. Now, the truth shines through—people are awakening to his courage, seeing a patriot who stood tall for Hindu dharma when others bowed. Godse is not a murderer; he is a sentinel of our nation’s survival, his words so mighty that even a judge declared the crowd would have set him free.
11. Godse’s Final Stand: A Call to History
Godse ended his statement without regret, Gita in hand, ready to face death. “I have no regrets for what I have done,” he said. “If I had not done it, it would have been a cowardly betrayal of Hindudom.” Hanged on November 15, 1949, his words live in May It Please Your Honour, Why I Assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, and videos online. They challenge blind worship, urging us to judge leadership by its impact on dharma. Godse wasn’t a killer—he was a warrior who saw India bleeding and acted, knowing history would weigh his heart. Many now honor him as a son of Bharat who saved its future, his eloquence a sword that cuts through decades of lies.
- Core Argument: Godse acted from love for India, not hate, trusting history to vindicate his sacrifice.
- Key Quotes:
- “I have no regrets for what I have done, nor any regrets for the fate that awaits me.”
- “I thought Gandhi was responsible for India’s partition and all the consequences that followed.”
- “History will judge me by my love for my nation.”
- Logical Flow: Summarizes his reasons, reaffirming duty as his guide, calling for future generations to understand.
- Tone and Duty: Dignified and sacrificial, bowing one last time to truth and justice—Godse’s legacy roars louder than any noose.
Read all Articles on Gandhi as a British Agent here… 3 pdfs are after all the links below.
