On Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary, National leaders pay respects to Bapu

Just five months and 15 days after the country gained independence from British rule, Mahatma Gandhi—the father of the nation, was assassinated on this day, 30th of January, by Nathuram Vinayak Godse in 1948.

Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, fired three bullets into Gandhiji's chest when he was on his way to address an evening prayer meeting around 5:17 pm at Birla Bhavan, Delhi, along with his grandnieces. He passed away instantly due to the gunshot wounds. In Godse's words, "Massacre and suffering caused during and due to the partition could have been avoided if Gandhi and the Indian government had acted to stop the killing of the minorities (Hindus and Sikhs) in West and East Pakistan. Gandhi's stance on religious tolerance and non-violence had already caused India to cede Pakistan to Muslims, along with uprooting millions of homes. If not stopped, Gandhi would bring destruction and more massacres to Hindus.'' Godese was hanged on November 15th, 1949, in Ambala jail following the court proceedings.

The president of India, Droupadi Murmu, Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankar, and the prime minister, Narendra Modi, paid tribute on Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary at Rajghat. Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders paid their respects to Mahatma Gandhi during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Bihar's Araria. Rahul Gandhi's tribute to Mahatma Gandhi included the Congress party's assertion that the true tribute to the father of the nation would be to not let the "flame of truth and harmony" be extinguished in the "storm of hatred."