Sixty years ago this week, on Jan. 30, 1948, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was murdered. A man who had driven the British out of India with non-violent civil disobedience fell victim to an assassin's bullet.
Gandhi's frail frame and bespectacled face were already familiar around the world, thanks to his tireless campaign against imperial Britain. Known as "Mahatma" — which means "Great Soul" in Sanskrit — he was revered as a saint, a demi-god, in his native land. His death plunged the country into spasms of grief and self-doubt.
The murder was a profoundly political act. The gunman, a Hindu fanatic named Nathuram Godse, revelled in his guilt and went to the gallows unrepentant. His brother and co-conspirator Gopal Godse, told told Time magazine in 2000 that Gandhi had betrayed the Hindus of India in favour of the Muslims of Pakistan.
History takes the opposite view. Gandhi is widely recognized as one of the greatest figures of the 20th century — a man whose moral leadership liberated hundreds of millions of people.
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Gandhi's frail frame and bespectacled face were already familiar around the world, thanks to his tireless campaign against imperial Britain. Known as "Mahatma" — which means "Great Soul" in Sanskrit — he was revered as a saint, a demi-god, in his native land. His death plunged the country into spasms of grief and self-doubt.
The murder was a profoundly political act. The gunman, a Hindu fanatic named Nathuram Godse, revelled in his guilt and went to the gallows unrepentant. His brother and co-conspirator Gopal Godse, told told Time magazine in 2000 that Gandhi had betrayed the Hindus of India in favour of the Muslims of Pakistan.
History takes the opposite view. Gandhi is widely recognized as one of the greatest figures of the 20th century — a man whose moral leadership liberated hundreds of millions of people.
Full story
Do you think Gandhi's message of non-violence is relevant today?
More...