Martyrs’ Day, also called Shaheed Diwas, remembered on January 30th every year in India. It is the day to honor and remember the brave people of our country who gave their lives for the freedom. This day is recognise as Martyr’s because this day marks the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Who is the Father of the Nation. Martyrs’ Day is very important in our history. It represents the courage of those who sacrificed for our country’s independence.
January 30 marks the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi—the father of the nation—who was assassinated on this day by Nathuram Vinayak Godse in 1948, exactly five months and 15 days after our country India earned independence from British Rule.
This year means 2024 is the 76th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
In Mahatma Gandhi death anniversary Let see some fact about his and why he was assassinated.
Mahatma Gandhi full name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He is well known for the famed peace and nonviolence. Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar. At the age of 13, he married Kasturba. He received law training at London’s Inner Temple. In 1983, he moved to South Africa to represent an Indian merchant in a case. He lived Soth Africa for 21 years. During his time in South Africa, he first used nonviolent resistance to advocate for civil rights.
In 1915 January 9, he returned in India at the request of Gopal Krishna. After returning soon he started organizing farmers and urban labourers to fight against discrimination. He spearheaded the Satyagraha and Ahimsa movements against British colonial control. His nonviolent attitude and ability to persuade others through love and compassion had a significant impact on civil rights movements.
He not only committed his life to India’s freedom movement, but he also led nationwide anti-untouchability and poverty campaigns. He also advocated for women’s rights.
Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, shot himself in the chest on January 30, 1948, while on his way to address an evening prayer meeting (about 5:17 p.m.) at Birla Bhavan in Delhi with his grandnieces. According to the records, he died instantly.
Why did Nathuram Godse Kill Mahatma Gandhi?
On January 30, 1948 Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on the grounds of Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), a stately house in downtown New Delhi. Mahatma Gandhi is known by the people of India as ‘Bapu’. He was 78 years old when he was killed. Godse fired three bullets in the chest and belly at point-blank range. After a moment later, he died in the spot.
Nathuram Godse had never denied killing Bapu ( Mahatma Gandhi), Instead, he explained why he did it in a long way. He said he didn’t hate Gandhi but believed he was doing his “moral duty” by killing him.
Godse give some reason for killing Mahatma Gandhi they are:-
- Godse thought that the pain and trouble caused by the partition could have avoided if Gandhi and the Indian government had acted to stop the killing of Hindus and Sikhs in West and East Pakistan. Godse said Gandhi didn’t speak out against these wrongs.
- Godse said the Indian government changed its decision after Gandhi went on a fast to make them release the final payment to Pakistan, which previously frozen because of the war in Kashmir. According to Godse, Gandhi needed to be removed from politics so that India could focus on its own interests as a nation.
- Godse believed that Gandhi’s ideas about religious tolerance and non-violence had already led to India giving Pakistan to Muslims, causing millions of people to lose their homes. Godse thought that if not stopped, Gandhi would bring more destruction and massacres to Hindus.
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Who was Nathuram Godse?
Nathuram Godse is a Hindu Nationalist. His full name is Ramchandra Vinayak Godse. He is popularly known as Nathuram Godse. Godse fired three shots of bullets at Gandhi ji’s chest from close range, ensuring his death. He chose not to flee, and captured, prosecuted, and sentenced to death. This was his third attempt to assassinate Gandhiji. Earlier in 1944, he attempted to kill him twice but was unsuccessful. He was not alone in the assassination plot; he planned it alongside Narayan Apte and six others.
Following Gandhi’s killing in 1948, Godse said that Gandhi supported the political demands of British India’s Muslims during India’s 1947 split.
Godse was born in a Konkani Brahmin family in Baramati, Pune. His parents named him Nathuram after making him wear a nose ring due to a family belief that their male children would die young. Unfortunately, three of his brothers did pass away in infancy.
After completing his fifth standard in a local school, he was sent to an English-language school in Pune. However, he dropped out of high school and became an activist.
During his school days, Godse admired Mahatma Gandhi and even participated in the civil disobedience movement in 1930. Later, he was inspired by nationalist ideals from Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and became a member of Hindu Mahasabha. He wrote articles in newspapers to share his thoughts and eventually started his own newspaper called Agrani with his partner Narayan Apte, where he served as the editor.
After assassinating Mahatma Gandhi, Godse was arrested and put on trial at the Punjab High Court in Shimla. In 1949, he sentenced to death. Despite requests for clemency from Mahatma Gandhi’s sons, Manilal and Ramdas, the Indian government rejected them. Godse hanged at Ambala Central Jail on November 15, 1949.
Some inspirational quotes of Mahatma Gandhi are:-
1. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
2. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
3. “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
4. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
5. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
6. “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
7. “The future depends on what you do today.”
8. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
9. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
10. “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
11. “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
12. “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”
13. “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”
14. “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within me.”
15. “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
Conclusion
Mahatma Gandhi widely recognised for his commitment to peace and nonviolence. His birth anniversary, October 2, recognised as International Day of Nonviolence. The United Nations General Assembly established Gandhi Day in 2007 to celebrate his beliefs. This day dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of nonviolence and its role in promoting global peace, harmony, and unity.
