Hindu Mahasabha "Recreates" Mahatma Gandhi's Assassination In UP
NB: The gang known as Sangh Parivar was doing much the same thing in 2014-15:celebrating Gandhi's assassination. And Golwalkar's threat to Gandhi are part of the historical record. Now they are 'tactically' silent, or found singing Gandhi's praises. What a bunch of vicious hypocrites. DS
LUCKNOW: Even as the nation
celebrated (Could NDTV's editors kindly consult the dictionary to learn the difference between 'celebrate' and commemorate'?) the 71st death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a right-wing group
shockingly re-enacted his assassination in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh today. The
Hindu Mahasabha - of which the assassin, Nathuram Godse, was once a member also garlanded his statue and distributed sweets to hail what they claimed was
a watershed moment in Indian history.
A video that has gone
viral on social shows Hindu Mahasabha national secretary Puja Shakun Pandey
shoot the effigy of Mahatma Gandhi amid cheers. She later told reporters
that her organisation has started a new tradition by recreating the
assassination, and it will now be practised in a manner similar to the
immolation of demon king Ravana on Dussehra. The Hindu Mahasabha
regards the day of Mahatma Gandhi's death as Shaurya Divas (Bravery
Day), in honour of Nathuram
Godse. The right-wing activist was one of the early members of the
organisation, founded by Madan Mohan Malaviya way back in 1915.
Nathuram Godse
was sentenced
to death on November 8, 1949. Mahatma Gandhi's sons Manilal and Ramdas
pleaded that his punishment be commuted, but the Jawaharlal Nehru-led
government refused to relent. He was hanged at Ambala Jail on November 15 the
same year. This is not the first
time the Hindu Mahasabha has tried
to glorify Nathuram Godse while trying to denigrate the celebrated
freedom fighter. In 2015, outfit leader Swami Pranavananda had announced plans
to install statues of Nathuram Godse across six districts of Karnataka. He also
described the assassin as a "patriot" who had worked with the
blessings of Hindu nationalist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
All India
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi had earlier termed Mahatma
Gandhi's assassination as independent India's "first terror attack"
at the hands of a religious extremist. He also squarely blamed the incident on
Savarkar, a right-wing personality who is said to have inspired Hindutva-based
politics in the country. "Today is the
date of independent India's first terror attack by Nathuram Godse, whose guru
was Savarkar. Both were found guilty of Gandhiji's murder by the Justice
Jivanlal Kapoor Commission. India's independence was hard fought, and it must
be preserved from Savarkar's heirs," Mr Owaisi said. The nation marked the
71st death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Wednesday. He was shot dead at the
Birla House in New Delhi during his evening prayers.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/hindu-mahasabha-recreates-mahatma-gandhis-assassination-in-up-1985761
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