Lets Kill Gandhi

by Gandhi, Tushar A.

  15.170 Coming to Hindu Rashtra Dal, the witness stated that a circular was issued to watch its activities and the activities of its members but he could not remember who its members were.

  It must be noted that Pravinsinhji Vijaysinhji, characterised the Bomb explosion in Poona, in which Athawale and Apte were detained, as unimportant since, according to him, it was not targeted at any specific person. The fact that the bomb injured a young boy and damaged a vehicle and was exploded in a central part of the City was not of concern to him.

  G.P. ANGARKAR. WIT. 68

  15.187 Deputy Superintendent of Police G.P Angarkar, witness No. 68, was in the Intelligence Branch during the relevant period July 1947 to end of January 1948. Police shorthand reporters sent the proceedings of meetings to him and he sent them on to higher officers. Amongst those whose speeches had to be reported were some Hindu Sabha workers but there were no RSS workers in the list. Amongst the former were Barrister Savarkar and L.B. Bhopatkar. Savarkar was the President of Hindu Mahasabha, Nathuram Godse was a kind of a bodyguard of him but was not particularly prominent. Apte was at one time a Government servant and an honorary recruiting officer in the Indian Army in Ahmednagar. (Apte was actually a honorary recruiting officer for the Royal Indian Air Force in Poona during the Second World War) Badge had a Shastra Bhandar which was raided several times. Reports were sent to other districts also in regard to Badge when he sent any arms to those districts. But he was not considered dangerous and, therefore, his absence from Poona was not noticed.

  15.196 The policy of the Agranee was anti-Gandhi and anti-Congress and the paper was pronouncedly a communalist paper.

  15.199 After the Partition there was Hindu Muslim tension in Poona also. He could not say whether the recovery of arms had anything to do with the Hindu Mahasabha. After the arrest of Baba Saheb Paranjpe the witness came to know that the weapons were being sent to Hyderabad. They came to know about the connection of the Hindu Mahasabha with the arms when an account book was found in a raid. Apte and Godse were not arrested because they were not in the house where the raid was conducted.

  15.203 List of dangerous persons who were to be watched was made by Government or by the C.I.D. They kept a watch also over persons whom they thought dangerous and were not in the list. Badge was one of them. He was watched because he was dealing in arms. One man stationed to watch his movements was to watch the movements of others also. He used to find out who visited him and where he himself went.

  15.204 Badge had a distinguishable appearance. He had a long beard and long hair. His house was searched a number of times. He was considered dangerous in the context of Hindu Muslim tension.

  15.205 Apte's house was searched twice in 1947 and Nathuram Godse's once.

  15.206 If he had known that the editor of the Agranee was in the conspiracy of bomb throwing at the Birla House, he would certainly have arrested him and if he was not in Poona he would have tried to find out his whereabouts and then tried to follow him. If he had known that he had gone to Bombay he would have trailed him there. He would have tried to trace him wherever he was and even followed him to New Delhi. If he had known that Godse was one of the associates of Madanlal he would at once have connected Apte with him because they were great friends. Athawale would also have been considered as an associate.

  15.207 Khadilkar, M.P. had stated before the Commission that Inspector Angarkar used to be 'amongst them', i.e., he was quite friendly with them and knew everything and, therefore, he did not make any report to the police about the danger to Mahatma Gandhi's life.

  15.214 He had no information in July-August 1947 that Gandhiji's life was in danger. Khadilkar may say so but the witness had no such information.

  K.M. MUNSHI, WIT. 82

  15.218 KM. Munshi, an eminent Advocate, who has held every kind of high office in the Government and become a well known Congress leader, stated in his deposition (witness No. 82) that there was a group of political thought against Mahatma Gandhi, compendiously known as the Kesari Group.

  15.219 This group was led by Savarkar who advocated violence ever since he was a student and believed in political assassinations.

  15.211 A C.I.D. report at page 18 of I.B. file No. 8/CA/48-II shows that the Kesari Group were something different from what may be called the Savarkar Group. This document shows that when by August 1943 something like Rs. 2,19,514/- were collected as purses to V.D. Savarkar, the Kesari Group became apprehensive that Savarkar may ultimately eclipse Lokmanya Tilak.

  15.222 As a result of this conflict in political methods in the 'Kesari' school of thought in Maharashtra personal prejudices against Mahatma Gandhi resulted. But due to a flood of emotional patriotism resulting from Gandhiji's 'Quit India' Movement and the inability of anyone to withstand its influence, nobody was prepared to take the odium of anti-Gandhism. But Savarkar never lowered his flag; he continued to believe in political assassination. However, he remained quiescent and retreated into the background while the country was being swept by the 'Quit India' Movement of Gandhiji. There was in the Kesari School of Thought a certain section of people who genuinely believed that Hindus required a strong organisation to meet Muslim aggressiveness and were apprehensive of the weak kneed policy of the secularity group.

  15.223 The witness further stated that Partition was inevitable under the circumstances created in the country; but Gandhiji was opposed to it resulting in strained relations with Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel. Munshi was of the opinion that had India not been divided at that time, there would have been civil war at all levels resulting in street fighting in every town and also amongst the Defence Services and the police; but in North India the feeling continued to exist amongst the Hindus in general that Mahatma Gandhi was responsible for the Partition. The feeling of the Hindus throughout was that if the Mahatma had not appeased the Muslims by conceding Pakistan, Hindus would have been spared the miseries to which they were subjected.

  15.224 This is, in the opinion of the Commission, a fair and correct assessment of the political thought at the time in the country as a whole in general and in Maharashtra in particular and also in northern Provinces of India. This has been discussed at this stage with the happenings in Poona because Poona was the centre of the Kesari Group and of the activities of the extreme Hindu views which existed in the Maharashtrian districts round about Poona. The Commission will have very much more to say and other evidence to discuss both oral and documentary in this connection. But it would suffice to say that there was a strong anti-Gandhi feeling amongst the hands of the Kesari group. In that case, Savarkar was tried as a member of the conspiracy but was acquitted. It has been stated before the Commission that the inspiration came from Savarkar and he even patted Madanlal for what he was proposing to do.

  MRS SARLA BARVE, WIT. 39

  15.225 Mrs. Barve, witness No. 39, in her written statement, Ex.72, said that her husband who was the District Magistrate of Poona did come to know about the illegal activities of the Hindu Mahasabha members and that is why a watch was kept on their activities. She accused the authorities of not taking any proper notice. The throwing of the bomb on the 20th January 1948 was, according to her, a precursor of something very serious, e.g. murder. She also stated therein that her husband did know something about the impending trouble at Delhi and for that reason he telephoned Morarji Desai and informed him about it.

  15.226 She stated that two or three days before the murder of Mahatma Gandhi a man called Sathe came to their house but as her husband was not present he told her that some Poona people had gone to Delhi to take the life of Mahatma Gandhi. She had repeated that story to her husband. She asked Sathe where he lived and he said, 'Sadashiv Peth' and that he was a retired schoolteacher.

  15.227 On the 27th January 1948, she found her husband rather restless. He telephoned Kamte, Inspector General of Police, after asking her to go out of the room. A little while later she told her husband what Sathe had told her which made her husband more restless, worried and seriou
s and thereafter he was telephoning most of the time.

  GOPAL GODSE, WIT. 33

  15.229 Gopal Godse in his deposition before the Commission stated that, Nathuram Godse and Apte were collecting arms for the Hyderabad trouble which had the approval of the Provincial Government.

  15.236 If a strict watch had been kept and Police from Ahmednagar, Poona or Bombay had closely watched the movements of Nathuram or Karkare or Apte, it is possible that this murder may not have been committed by them.

  15.244 Nathuram and Apte used to go to Ahmednagar.

  15.245 All the conspirators walked out of the prayer meeting within five minutes of the ignition of the gun cotton slab There were a number of policemen at the Birla House on the 20th but nobody tried to stop the taxi in which the conspirators escaped.

  15.246 Other witnesses who have deposed to the state of affairs and conditions in Poona are Messrs S. R. Bhagwat, Witness No. 69, R. K. Khadilkar, M.P., Witness No.97, G. V. Ketkar, Witness No. 1. Besides there are the statements of Balukak Kanitkar, Ex. 81, recorded by the police and his writings, Ex.11, his letter to H. E. the Governor General of India and his writings in the Purushartha Ex. 166. They have been discussed in different chapters wherein they appropriately fall.

  R.K. KHADILKAR, WIT. 97

  15.247 As G.V. Ketkar, witness No. 1, had stated that he had talked to R.K. Khadilkar about what he observed and what he heard and about what Godse had told him, the Commission thought it necessary to examine Khadilkar who readily consented to appear before the Commission his statement on this matter is very revealing.

  15.248 When questioned about what Ketkar said about his talking to him, Khadilkar's reply was that he had no recollection of his travelling with Ketkar or Ketkar informing him of what Godse had said.

  15.250 He has deposed that there were rumours even before the first attempt on 20 January 1948 of a conspiracy being hatched in Poona to attack Gandhiji. The rumours were to the effect that something will happen to Gandhiji. People were decrying him and saying, Ata Vaachnar Nahin', 'Now there was no escape for him'.

  15.253 The atmosphere in Poona was highly poisonous and antagonistic towards Mahatma Gandhi and people thought that if he continued to live he would barter away the country to appease Pakistan. Khadilkar repeated that: T h e Poona police intelligence was "With them".' The attention of this witness was drawn towards what Dhejia, Secretary of the Bombay Home Department had stated that the violent propaganda in Poona was anti-Muslim. To this his reply was that it was incorrect that the Muslims were the targets of this resentment or enticement to violence; it was more correct to say that the sullenness and resentment was directed more against the Congress and particularly against Mahatma Gandhi.

  S.R. BHAGWAT, WIT. 69

  15.257 S.R. Bhagwat, witness No. 69, in a letter, Ex. 115A, to M.G. Kanitkar said that the late Balukaka Kanitkar had informed the late B.G. Kher and the late Sardar Patel about the plot to murder Mahatma Gandhi but no one believed him.

  15.258 Bhagwat, before this Commission, said that Balukaka Kanitkar in one of his speeches said that the relations and friends of Nathuram Godse were saying that Mahatma Gandhi was in favour of Muslims and was not protecting the Hindu interests. He must, therefore be 'removed'. He should not be given any place or position where he could influence the decisions in regard to Pakistan but he did not say that people were saying that the Mahatma should be murdered.

  15.260 He (Bhagwat) met B.G. Kher before the murder and he told the witness that he did not believe that Gandhiji's life was in danger and that 'I was imagining'.

  CONCLUSION

  15.265 Broadly speaking, there was a strong school of political thought in Poona which was associated with the Hindu Mahasabha, a part of it and yet ideologically different. This school has compendiously been called by KM. Munshi as the Kesari group led by Savarkar. By Kamte it was called a group of Chitpawan Brahmins but it was not really anti- Gandhi. Even in this group there were some people who were willing to resort to political assassination and there were others whose activities might have consisted of strong anti-Muslim propaganda but they would not go so far as to commit a murder of political opponents.

  15.266 (1) The Hindu Mahasabha was strong in Poona;

  (2) there were bomb incidents; and

  (3) there were collection of arms in regard to which a number of searches were carried out and persons arrested.

  But all these activities were directed against Muslims in order to drive them out of India and force them to go away to Pakistan.

  15.268 Gopal Godse had gone even further and said that even if Nathuram Godse, Apte and Karkare had been arrested, there would have been others who would have taken their place and would have finished Mahatma Gandhi, showing though not saying so that conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandhi had larger ramifications than Police investigation showed or were brought out at the trial in Judge Atmacharan's court.

  15.269 The group which actually took part in the conspiracy to murder was the most militant group among the Hindu Mahasabha workers. They had formed a separate organisation called the Hindu Rashtra Dal which from the evidence produced before the Commission was perhaps more militant than the RSS and had implicit faith in the ideology preached by V. D. Savarkar which consisted of 'tooth for Tooth and Eye for Eye'.

  Chapter XVI deals with the situation in Ahmednagar.

  16.1 Documentary evidence regarding Ahmednagar shows that Karkare even in the beginning of 1947 was prominent among the Hindu Mahasabhaites. He went to Noakhali and was making provocatory speeches on Noakhali happenings. So much so that the District Magistrate made orders under section 144 Cr. P.C. against him and another. There is a letter showing that he was importing arms.

  16.2 The order passed by the Government of Bombay for the compiling of the list of Hindu Mahasabha and RSS leaders was applicable to Ahmednagar also. Ex. 114A relates to that District and VR. Karkare was one of the names therein mentioned. This was up to August, 1947.

  16.5 Ex.266 dated 22 January 1948, is an extract from the Weekly Confidential Report of the District Magistrate. It shows that V.R. Karkare had gone to consult the Hindu Mahasabha leaders about the future line of Hindu Mahasabha work and to complain that the local Hindu Mahasabha workers did not co-operate with him on account of his activities amongst the refugees. This appears to be an incorrect report because there is other evidence to show that Karkare had vanished from Ahmednagar before the 10th January, 1948, and had gone on the nefarious task of murdering Mahatma Gandhi and not consulting the leaders about the future line of Hindu Mahasabha work. Ex. 227 dated 31st January shows that Karkare had been out of Ahmednagar for the last 12 or 13 days and he was reported to have paid a visit to the Refugee Camp at Chembur and was moving about in Bombay. Ex. 228 is an innocuous kind of a report showing that Karkare had not been arrested under the Detention Order as he had absconded from Ahmednagar.

  16.6 Ex. 67 dated January 29, 1948 is Sub-Inspector Balkundi's report to the D.I.G., stating that Madanlal appeared to be the same person who was operating in Ahmednagar and that he had left with V.R. Karkare 'Some 15 days back' and had not returned to Ahmednagar. Madanlal was a staunch RSS member. But this report whatever its authenticity was a belated document.

  16.7 On January 26, 1948 Inspector Razak sent a report to the D.S.Ps. of Ahmednagar and Poona including therein a list of persons named by S.V. Ketkar and other persons. These names had been obtained with the help of Inspector Savant of the C.I.D. presumably during the investigation. This report attached to ex. 58—Razak's letter has the names of 25 persons amongst whom were S.V. Ketkar, VR. Karkare, R.S. Rekhi, and D.V. Godse. Amongst them Ketkar, Karkare and Rekhi were considered to be persons holding extreme views, whatever that word may mean. Two of them D.V. Godse and Chandekar were stated to be from Poona. S.V. Ketkar and Rekhi were connected with Karkare's Guest House and D.V. Godse was a brother of Nathuram Godse, and others were members of Karkare's amateur dramatic troupe.

  16.13 Madanlal came into contact and was helped
by Vishnu R. Karkare, who was also an accused in the conspiracy to kill Mahatma Gandhi. Karkare owned and ran a hotel in Ahmednagar and used his position and influence to the fullest extent in inciting the refugees to take out processions and indulge in anti-Muslim activities. His strategy was to terrorise and drive Muslims of Ahmednagar and hand over their homes and businesses to the Refugees. He had thus grabbed several Muslim owned stalls in the fruit market and even given one to Madanlal.

  16.23 The evidence of the witnesses and the documents produced before the Commission show that four bombs were thrown in Ahmednagar town between 24 November 1947 and 26 December 1947.

  In connection with these bombs, information was being sent by the District Authorities to Government. On 8 December 1947, the District Magistrate wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary to the Bombay Government giving details of the bomb in Vasant Talkies and the extent of the damage done. A copy of the letter had been sent to the D.I.G. C.I.D., Poona. Thereupon Inspector Razak of the C.I.D., witness no. 34, was sent to Ahmednagar to investigate or to help in the investigation into the bomb incidents. By then there had been two explosions. Inspector Razak came and conducted his investigation and his evidence shows that the bomb explosions were caused by the workers of the Hindu Mahasabha but nobody had been arrested although Karkare and Madanlal who were both accused in the Gandhi Murder Case were suspected to have been at the bottom of these explosions. On 18 December 1947, he made a report (ex. 61) stating that the bombs excepting one that was thrown in Kappad Bazar which was different, were of the same type, similar to the bombs which had been found on 3 June 1947, in a bomb factory owned by Vassen Puspasen in Bombay which had been unearthed by the Bombay C.I.D. and one of which was brought to Poona by a police officer inspector Ranbhice and in connection with that find some Gujaratis were arrested. This according to him showed a common source and a common agency operating. On 24 December 1947 (Ex.62) the houses of the Secretary of the Muslim League and the Captain of the Muslim National Guards were searched but nothing incriminating was found. The report of this is Ex. 62. This document also shows that the lives of the Congress leaders including the local secretary Saptarshi were threatened and that the bomb on the Moharram procession was similar to the one that was burst in Shanivar Peth in Poona.