The International Day of Non-Violence is observed across the world on October 2. The day marks the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s ‘Father of the Nation’. On 15 June 2007, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed the resolution to commemorate the International Day of Non-Violence. The resolution confirmed the universal relevance of non-violence and the need to ensure a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding among people. The International Day of Non-Violence was first observed in the year 2007. The resolution passed by the UNGA focused on developing a culture of peace, understanding, and tolerance with the help of Gandhi’s teachings. The leader’s philosophy and ideals have inspired millions around the world to adopt the path of non-violence. “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man,” according to Mahatma Gandhi. He was a pioneer of the philosophy of ahimsa (non-violence), the philosophy that holds non-violence as the highest moral virtue.
In contrast, we have Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. It will not be wrong to say that almost everyone knows about Mahatma Gandhi, his life and his philosophy. However, not everyone is aware of his death and the cause of his death – or rather, the person responsible for his death. Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence, met a violent end. On the evening of 30 January 1948, Nathuram Godse shot Mahatma Gandhi dead at point-blank range. The 38-year-old zealot was a member of Hindu Mahasabha, a right-wing party. A trial court sentenced Godse to death a year after the assassination. He was executed on 15 November 1949. Before joining the Hindu Mahasabha, Godse was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Hindu right-wingers in recent years have lionized Godse, with the likes of BJP’s Pragya Thakur stating that Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was a patriot. There is a lot of mystery, or controversy, surrounding the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse. In fact, the government of India banned Godse’s testimony and trial statement because of fears that it promoted religious hatred between Hindus and Muslims in India, until it was published for the first time in 1977.
In his court deposition, Godse said, “I thought to myself and foresaw I shall be totally ruined, and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing but hatred … if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I felt that the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely be proved practical, able to retaliate, and would be powerful with armed forces. No doubt, my own future would be totally ruined, but the nation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan.” It is amply clear that while Mahatma Gandhi is venerated by the world today, his assassin has not been forgotten either.