Listening patiently to all the leaders who stood before him with folded hands and moist eyes, Gandhi relented, and said, 'I shall break my fast. Let God's will prevail,' which he did accompanied by the recitations of holy passages from Hindu, Islamic, Parsi, and Buddhist scriptures. A glass filled with eight ounces of orange juice mixed with an ounce of glucose was brought into the room. Maulana Azad held the glass to his lips. It was 12.45 pm; Gandhi had performed the miracle of Calcutta in New Delhi as Lord Mountbatten had hoped he would.
It was an auspicious day, being Guru Gobind Singh's birthday, and soon after breaking the fast Gandhi dictated the following message: 'The Sikhs have shown true courage in eschewing anger. This is the true teaching of Guru Gobind Singh Maharaj. That one single Sikh is equal to one and a half lakh people bears this very meaning. Victory to the Sikhs!'
After the much-relieved gathering dispersed, Nehru revealed to Gandhi that he too had been fasting for the past two days, a fact kept secret even from his family members! After Nehru left, Gandhi scribbled a note and dispatched it to his home: 'Now break your fast ... May you live for many long years and continue to be the Jawahar [the jewel] of India. Bapu's blessings.' He then remembered that an American journalist Arthur Moore had also been fasting with him for the past six days. He told Dr. Nayyar, 'Telephone Moore at once, tell him that I have broken my fast and that he should now break his. And give him instructions as to the proper way of breaking the fast. He might not know.' Moore replied that he had already heard the good news and had just broken his fast with a cup of hot coffee and a cigar!
Later, Gandhi called Pyarelal and asked him to meet Zahid Hussain, the Pakistani envoy, to check when he could visit Pakistan. Zahid was effusive in his praise for Gandhi's fast and said his wife admired him having read his works in their Urdu translations. He added that he had received telegrams every day from all over Pakistan inquiring about Gandhi's health. 'You do not know how deeply Gandhiji's latest act of sacrifice has stirred the hearts of the people of Pakistan,' Hussain said. But when asked whether this meant that the Government of Pakistan would now welcome Gandhi's visit to Pakistan, he said, 'No, not yet. But I hope that conditions will have changed for the better sufficiently before long.' The Pakistani government was not quite satisfied with the conduct of the authorities on the Indian side. In the Simla high court, Muslims were still not allowed to practice. Zahid sounded less and less convincing with every passing minute, commented Pyarelal on his return to Birla House.
'There seems little chance of my completing the full span of one hundred and twenty-five years,' Gandhi replied with a deep sigh on hearing the report of Pyarelal's meeting with the Pakistani high commissioner.
At Marina Hotel that morning, Karkare joined Apte and Nathuram for breakfast, and the three then took a tonga to Albuquerque Road, to reconnoitre Birla House. The lanes running parallel to the low brick compound wall afforded an unhindered view of the house and the compound, and the room occupied by Gandhi was clearly visible from there. A servant's room at the rear entrance provided easy access to the compound and to the prayer lawns. The servant's quarters were at a level lower than the garden, while its back wall and the rear compound wall of the lawns, where the evening public prayers were held, were the same.
Since all the gang members had been told that if they missed each other at the railway station in Delhi they were to proceed to the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan, it was decided that Karkare would be stationed at the Mahasabha during the day. The gang leaders had gathered in Delhi but their shooter had not yet arrived. Without Badge, their plan would be a non-starter.
That evening the three of them attended Gandhi's 5.00 pm prayer meeting. They mixed freely with the crowd and went around the grounds; they were sure that, as Gandhi had broken his fast, he would address the meeting from his regular spot—with his back to the wall of the servants' quarters—within a day or two. While they were surveying the prayer grounds Apte pointed out to the others the podium where Gandhi sat to address the crowds. Right behind, barely twelve feet away, was a ventilator grill of a servant's room. Anybody standing inside the room and looking out of the grill would be able to fire a shot, point blank, at Gandhi. Why, he may even be able to push a hand grenade through the grill, to ensure that Gandhi did not survive. They now only had to figure out an access to the servants' quarter.
Pleased with how simple it was going to be for them to execute their plot, they went to Delhi railway station to receive Gopal who was travelling by the Punjab Mail, and Badge and Kistayya, who were to reach by the Frontier Mail. Both the trains reached Delhi within an hour of each other. The three of them pushed through the crowds searching for Gopal, Badge and Kistayya but they could not find any one. Unknown to them Badge and Kistayya had missed their train. Gopal had jumped out of his train as it was entering the platform and rushed out of the station, afraid he would be caught by the police with an illegal gun in his possession. The leaders, thinking all had missed their trains, started feeling despondent. The Apte-Godse gang had acquired a reputation of bragging; their schemes were always very grand, but the end results never quite matched up. This had led to many of their financiers getting disillusioned with them. Apte and Godse always blamed their failures on fate and circumstances. On this miserable winter evening in Delhi, this, the grandest of their plots, also seemed to be facing eventual doom. The three downcast men reached Marina Hotel. Nathuram ordered hot coffee for himself and Apte and Karkare, feeling more miserable than usual, ordered a double peg of whisky each. As in every hotel, orders for alcholic drinks left a trail. Every peg served had to be accounted for, so the name of the customer or room number was recorded in a separate 'Liquor Register' maintained by the hotel.
Gopal, caught in the rains, returned to the station and lay down on the platform amongst the hundreds of refugees who had made it their temporary home.
In Bombay, Badge and Shankar Kistayya reached Victoria Terminus and boarded the Punjab Mail at 2.30 pm. The train would reach Delhi after twenty-four hours chugging through the entire Central Indian plains and across the Vindhyas, the next evening.
Finally, the most vital cog of the gang was on his way. The second revolver and the shooter would be in Delhi by the next evening.
MONDAY, 19 JANUARY 1948
At Birla House, Gandhi followed his daily routine. The fatigue of his fast had no bearing on his daily activities.
The fast had taken its toll on the seventy-eight-year-old body. The damage to his kidneys worried his doctors, but Gandhi had reversed many medical theories in the past. His regular and frugal habits and abstemious nature had empowered him with phenomenal healing powers. He had absolute command over sleep. 'When I lose command over sleep,' he said, 'I shall be finished. It will be a sign not merely of physical decay but of the deterioration of the spirit as well. All deterioration begins with the spirit; next, it affects the body and finally, one's environment.' His memory had showed some signs of tiring, but his mind was razor sharp. His judgements were precise and his intuition more unerring than ever. For his years Gandhi could still put in a lot of physical and intellectual work daily. Since he had started eating his regular meals, he insisted he had to earn them by doing what he termed 'bread labour', a proportionate amount of physical labour to justify the intake of food, every day. So that day the weak and tired body insisted on spinning his rentio and producing khadi yarn, which would annually be woven into cloth used to clothe and cover him.
He wondered out loud that, as his presence was not required in Delhi, should he leave for Pakistan even if the government and officials were inimical to the idea. If he was able to achieve in Pakistan what he had in Calcutta and Delhi, it would remove the biggest hurdle to the development of a healthy atmosphere in the subcontinent. It could well bring about a reunification of the two countries. He also wanted to go to Kashmir to heal its wounded psyche. His heart told him that Kashmir, if left untreated, would become a festering wound and destroy his beloved India.
The doctors had
warned Gandhi's close confidantes that he should not exert himself. He did not have too many visitors that day, barring a few groups of people who had come for his darshan. They were allowed to enter the lawns but kept away from where Gandhi lay on his bed in the sun, as was his daily routine.
At the Hindu Mahasabha office, things were hectic. Ashutosh Lahiri had come under fire from the extremist fringe of the Mahasabha who criticised him for his acceptance of the Seven Point Peace Pledge. He had been forced to prepare a statement, denying that any representative of the Hindu Mahasabha had signed the pledge which was to be released to the press that evening.
Apte and Godse were at the Mahasabha office, worried about the nonappearance of the last two members, and the most vital part of their plans. Without their shooter, the rest of the gang was ineffective. An agitated Lahiri finished a draft of the press release and gave a copy to Nathuram. He did not pay heed either to the press release or to a whining Lahiri and absentmindedly stuffed it into his jacket pocket.
Apte requested Lahiri to allow him to make a call to Bombay. Lahiri asked that a suitable amount to cover the charge of the call be deposited first. Apte handed over Rs. 15, and booked a call to number 6020— Savarkar Sadan. Apte asked for Kasar or Damle. He wanted to find out if either Gopal Godse or Badge had gone to Savarkar Sadan or left a message for their leaders. The call was tried at 11.30 but neither Kasar nor Damle were available. Just then Karkare, who was standing near the door, saw Gopal enter Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan. 'Ha kay Gopal alaa', 'There, Gopal has come', he said. Apte cancelled the call and was told that the charge was one rupee and fifteen annas. Those days not many people booked an urgent call and then cancelled it and so the call, booked at 9.20 am, stuck in the minds of the operators, Kulwant Kaur in Delhi and G. Phurness in Bombay. In those days of manually connected calls, the bored operators quite regularly listened in on conversations to liven up the tedium of their job.
Nathuram rushed up and embraced his brother. 'Sukh rup phonchla. Pravasat tras tar nahi zala na? Saman anala?', You have arrived safely. Hope your journey was comfortable? Have you got the goods?' Gopal patted his bag and said, 'Chinta naka karu, Dada, aramat alo. Saman pan anala.' 'Don't fret, brother, I am okay. I have brought the goods too'.
Karkare and Gopal then left for Sharif Hotel where a relieved Pahwa met them. Karkare did not introduce Gopal to Amchekar but rather brusquely told him that they had to leave for Jullundhar for Madanlal's marriage that afternoon and so he would have to vacate the room. Amchekar, who had already registered with the Transfer Bureau and was keen to return to Bombay to be with his family, said it was fine with him and thanked Karkare for the hospitality. As a matter of courtesy he asked Karkare for his address, but to his astonishment Karkare curtly replied, 'You don't need to know my address.' Saying this, the three collected their luggage, with the grateful Madanlal carrying Karkara Seth's baggage. They got into a tonga and proceeded towards the Hindu Mahasabha office.
That afternoon Karkare and Apte went to Birla House to find an access to the servants' quarter. They had now finalised the plan: the shooter would gain access to the room in the servant's quarters and as soon as the gun cotton slabs exploded on the two sides of the podium, he would fire at Gandhi and toss a hand grenade at him. The rest of the gang would position themselves in a ring around the podium and toss a couple of grenades into the crowd to create confusion. Taking advantage of the chaos and panic, the gang members would make their escape.
Apte and Nathuram were responsible for directing and coordinating the actions of the gang members. Very cleverly they had ensured that neither of them would be caught armed or participating in the act of killing Gandhi. Nathuram had also shielded his younger brother Gopal. For all their anger and commitment to rid the nation of the 'meddlesome' Gandhi, they were effectively not taking any risk that would trap them in the attempt.
That evening Apte, Nathuram and Karkare went to Delhi railway station to see if Badge would arrive that day. Not finding him, they returned to the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan. There they found, to their great relief, Badge and Kistayya sitting and chatting with Pahwa. Karkare and Gopal shared a room at the Bhavan that night. They now had the adjoining dormitory so Pahwa, Badge and Kistayya were told to sleep in the hall.
The entire gang had just about managed to gather in Delhi less than twenty-four hours before their attempted to kill Gandhi.
TUESDAY, 20 JANUARY 1948
After the winter showers, Delhi had become extremely chilly. At Birla House the day started as usual. Gandhi had been restless all night due to a racking cough but he refused to take any medicine.
No appointments were scheduled for that day. Gandhi spent the entire morning, and the better part of the afternoon, catching up on his correspondence. Since the previous evening, Gandhi had started attending the prayer meeting, but since he was weak he was carried to the podium on a chair. That day the prayer meeting was delayed as the public address system had failed. It took some time before things were set right.
At Marina Hotel, Nathuram and Apte ordered breakfast in their room. Those days, small hotels had dhobis who would visit the occupied rooms, take the laundry for washing and ironing, and deliver the clothes that evening or the next morning. Nathuram gave his soiled clothes for washing not realising that his clothes were marked in ink with his real initials 'N.VG.'. The dhobi listed ten clothe items given by Room 40.
At the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan, Apte reached Karkare's room at 8.30 am and asked Badge and Kistayya to accompany him to Birla House. They were stopped at the gate by a sentry; Apte told him that they had come to meet Gandhi's secretary. He scribbled a name on a piece of paper and asked the sentry to take it inside. While the sentry went in, a heavily built man dressed in a suit walked out of the gate. Apte told Badge that he was Shaheed Suhrawardy. 'He will be sitting next to Gandhi at the prayer meeting. You will have to kill both of them or at least one of them as per Tatyarao's command.' The sentry came back and let the three of them in.
Apte, Badge and Kistayya walked into the Birla House compound and proceeded towards the back, where the prayer grounds were situated. Apte showed Badge the podium where Gandhi and Suhrawardy would be seated. Then he showed Badge the lattice work grill barring the window and told him that his access to the room would be arranged. He would be the one to fire at Gandhi and toss a hand grenade at the podium. Pahwa and Karkare would light the two slabs of gun cotton on the walls on both sides of the podium; as soon as that went off Badge was to fire the shots and toss the hand grenade. Kistayya was to stand in front of the podium and fire at Gandhi from the front and throw a grenade at the podium.
The plan was an amateur's exercise in overkill. They were so desperate to kill Gandhi, the fact that they were going to unleash a barrage of shots and explosives in a densely packed crowd did not bother them. They gave no thought to the loss of innocent lives their attack would cause. The average attendance at Gandhi's prayer meetings was between four and five hundred men, women and children, but after the fast, the crowds had swelled to over a thousand. The garden was 8,000 square feet and it was the practice that women and children occupied the front rows near the podium. According to their plan, that was where the maximum damage would be done when their explosives and hand grenades went off. But to Apte, Godse and Karkare, this loss of innocent lives was acceptable.
The podium was measured; the distance from the podium to the ventilator window of the servant's quarter was measured. The distance between the two spots where the gun cotton was to be exploded was paced off and measured. All this was done in such a manner that it did not arouse suspicion of the servants milling around and members of Gandhi's entourage. Many times during their survey, they looked towards Birla House and saw their victim lying on his cot outside his room. He was meeting some people who had come and was dictating his correspondence. No one took any notice of the three men hovering around the prayer grounds.
Apte pointed out where Nathuram, Gopal and he would be standing and where each of
them would throw their grenades. He asked if Badge was sure he would hit the target from the distance that separated him from his victim. Badge assured him that he would be able to do so.
Finally, by 11.30 am, they felt confident of having familiarised themselves with the grounds. The three then returned to Mahasabha Bhavan where they learnt that Nathuram was suffering from a migraine and was resting. Pahwa was waiting for them with Gopal. Apte suggested that they should go some place where they could test the guns.
The grounds behind the Mahasabha Bhavan were heavily wooded forests. Apte led Badge, Kistayya and Gopal into these woods. After about fifteen minutes they came to a tiny clearing. It was the perfect spot to test their guns. Apte paced off the exact distance between the grill and the podium and asked Kistayya to give him the revolver. Apte loaded four rounds into the gun. He then handed it over to Kistayya and asked him to hit a spot on a tree that he had marked as a target. To their horror, when the gun was fired, the bullets did not reach the target which was barely ten feet away! That was when they realised for the first time that the gun and the ammunition were of different calibre and therefore would not work effectively. Now Gopal opened the oilskin packet and took out his service revolver, a .38 Webley Scott, which he had retrieved from Uksan. The moist soil had rusted and jammed its firing mechanism. Gopal had some lubricating oil and a penknife in his trunk; he asked Shankar to go back to Mahasabha Bhavan and fetch it.
While they were waiting for Shankar, they saw three forest guards walking towards them. They hid the guns under a blanket they had spread. One of the guards, Meher Singh, asked the group what they were doing there. Gopal, who after his stint in the Army could speak a smattering of Punjabi, said that they were having a picnic. Even though the guards left, the gang decided that the place was unsafe and left for the Mahasabha Bhavan.
Lets Kill Gandhi Page 11