Lets Kill Gandhi

by Gandhi, Tushar A.

  18.14 Morarji Desai was then asked about the bomb explosion at Poona particularly in the heart of the city. Exhibit 155 relates to this incident showing that a bomb was thrown from the top of and near the city library in Poona city on June 16, 1947 resulting in injuries to 'a boy' and damage to a motor truck. One N.R. Athawale, a Hindu Mahasabhaite was arrested and he made a confessional statement before a Magistrate under S. 164 Cr.P.C. that the bomb had been given to him by N.D. Apte of 'The Agranee', with the instructions to throw it from a height and he admitted that he had thrown it on the road from the second floor of the City Library. Apte was arrested on 4th July 1947 but a search of his house showed nothing and nothing incriminating was recovered.

  18.15 It may be remarked that the similarity between this case and the case of recovery of a large quantity of arms and ammunition from the house of V.R. Ketkar of Ahmednagar is significant. In both cases the persons arrested made confessional statements involving prominent Hindu Sabha workers, Apte in the Poona case and Karkare in the Ahmednagar case. In both cases the persons named escaped without a scratch and in one case even the self confessed bomb thrower could not be prosecuted. In both cases the confessions were retracted and the police found no other evidence against the prominent workers. The parallel is striking if not indicative of a pattern of Hindu Mahasabha's modus operandi.

  18.16 On the 9 July, Kher wrote a note on the file, when the matter of the Poona bomb went to him after passing through the various Secretariat echelons, wherein he said 'was not the editor of the Agranee arrested? I would like to know the progress'. Morarji Desai was asked how the editor of the Agranee's name came to be mentioned when there was nothing in exhibit 155 (the bomb matter) to show any connection between the Agranee and the throwing of the bomb, and his reply was that the name of the Agranee must have been mentioned in one of the weekly letters.

  18.17 When the papers came to Morarji Desai for sanction for prosecution under the Explosive Substances Act he recorded a note on 5th August that his information was that the confession had been retracted and if that was so what was the evidence to prove the guilt of the accused persons. On this Kher wrote: 'This matter must be treated more seriously. We must impress it upon the D.S.P. that he is to investigate the case thoroughly. The Agranee has stated that it is a matter of high honour that the Hindu Sabha should be accused of throwing a bomb—H.D. is returning his security. Is terrorism to be allowed to be openly encouraged? I would like to see Secretary H.D.' This is demonstrative of Kher's anxiety in relation to the incidents of bomb throwing.

  18.19 Desai was next asked about exhibit 177, dated August 1947, an order of Kher about preparing a list of and keeping a strict watch on the operations of the members of the Hindu Mahasabha organisation and of the R.S.S. To this order Desai had added that this be done within 10 days showing need for expedition. He has also said that Hindu Mahasabha and RSS were working together.

  18.21 Morarji Desai was then examined and closely questioned in regard to the letter which G.V. Ketkar claims to have got sent to Bombay Government through Balukaka Kanetkar. He was asked:

  'Q. Did Balasaheb Kher ever talk to you about this letter?'

  A. I think, he did but as far as my memory goes, no names were mentioned in that .... I do not think I saw the letter. Balasaheb told me of the contents of the letter. As far as I can recollect, no names were given.' He added, 'From my recollection I can say that the letter seemed to show that the atmosphere was very tense and there was danger to the life of Mahatma Gandhi which several other people were saying and which also felt because of the atmosphere which refugees had created.'

  The witness emphasised that Nathuram Godse's name was not mentioned by Balukaka Kanetkar.

  18.22 He was then asked about Balukaka's article in Purshartha (Exhibit 166) wherein there is an alleged reiteration by Balukaka of informing the authorities that Nathuram Godse had said that Mahatma Gandhi should be killed; Morarji Desai said that he had not seen it.

  18.24 Desai said that Balukaka Kanetkar talked to him also and he told him that the atmosphere in Poona was very tense and there was danger to the Mahatma as also to the life of Congress leaders generally but he never mentioned any names of the likely assailants and never mentioned the names of Godse or Apte.

  'I do not agree that there was any complacency or the matter would have been taken lightly even if the names of these persons had been given. Even otherwise people were worried and all of us including Sardar Patel, myself and my chief Balasaheb Kher, were worried about it and we mentioned the matter to Gandhiji about the danger but we could not do anything more than what we did, i.e., to keep some plain clothes men around Mahatma Gandhi.'

  18.25 But the danger, according to him was not confined to Poona; it was from all over the Country. Morarji Desai did not accept the claim of Balukaka Kanetkar that he was the only person who for six months had been trying to prevent the tragedy which ultimately overtook the country. The first time any names were mentioned to him was when Prof. Jain talked to him on 21 January 1948.

  18.31 Prof. Jain did tell Morarji Desai that Madanlal had disclosed to him that he (Madanlal) and his companions were going to kill Mahatma Gandhi but he had not involved Savarkar in it.

  18.34 When asked why the Inspector General of Police, Kamte and the Commissioner of Police Bharucha were not taken into confidence, the witness replied that Nagarvala was in charge of the C.I.D. (Special Branch) and the information could not be dispersed among so many officers. Besides he did not consider Bharucha to be very competent and Kamte was in Poona; and he had no real control or jurisdiction over Bombay City. It may be remarked that as things turned out later and in the light of the disclosures as to the names of the conspirators which later transpired, perhaps Kamte's assistance with his control of the Provincial Police would have been helpful.

  18.41 Gadgil's article disclosed that a friend of his a Jedhe, M.C.A. came to Delhi from Poona on 15th January 1948, and he (Jedhe) knew that Godse and others had chalked out a plan in Poona and send-offs were being given to them. If Jedhe could come to know about it, it should have been possible for the Provincial or Local Intelligence also because according to Khadilkar, the Intelligence Officer Inspector Angarkar was 'with us'. This fact of the feasting was deposed to by Gadgil. As a witness he said: 'Godse and his friends were being feted as they were to go and murder Gandhiji and there was a function at Tilak Smarak Mandir.'

  18.42 Morarji Desai did say that Police Intelligence was weak and weakness still continues but surely it could not be so weak a nd so inept that if feasting was done to felicitate people who were going to murder Mahatma Gandhi the police should have known nothing about it unless it was done in a very secret manner as is usual in the case of conspiracies. In that case it should have been impossible for Jedhe to know of it unless he was close friend or a clever sleuth.

  18.48 Morarji Desai had a faint recollection about Purushottam Trikamdas witness No. 15 having seen him but could not remember who the man with him was. When the statement of Purushottam was read out to him, he said he could not remember who the man was nor what he had said if he had said that the conspiracy was to murder Mahatma Gandhi he must have referred the man to the Police. Desai said that the real cause of the murder was that the Hindu Mahasabha was strongly opposed to the Mahatma, considered him to be enemy of Hinduism and therefore they viewed everything from that angle. He agreed with Kamte about his suggestion as to what he would have done if the information had been given except that no case could be registered and the Bombay Police could not be sent to Delhi unless the Delhi Police asked for them.

  18.51 Kidnapping Theory—Morarji Desai stated that he did not agree with the kidnapping theory which as a matter of fact was never mentioned to him and if it had been, he would never have accepted it because it was an impossible proposition.

  18.53 From the talk he had with Balukaka and from other information which he got, 'It was not possible for me to locate anybodyin particular as the likely assassin of Mahatma Gandhi
'. If he had the slightest inkling about the persons in the conspiracy, he would have put it down by all means at his command. 'I could not say who the exact persons were who would do harm to Mahatma Gandhi but from the information I had. I could say that they were likely to be either the refugees or the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha. Not necessarily from Poona.'

  18.64 In Morarji Desai's opinion, Nagarvala did all that could possibly be done.

  18.65 In answer to questions by Commission, he said that Nagarvala did not tell him that the Delhi Police officers had mentioned the editor of Agranee. On the other hand, he was complaining that they were not very cooperative. As said earlier this must have been after the murder. Before the murder there was not even inkling of Godse and Apte being in the conspiracy. When the murder took place, Desai could not imagine that it had been committed by someone from Poona. He knew Nathuram Godse as the editor of the Agranee.

  18.66 Desai said, 'I have heard from Counsel portions from the evidence of Nagarvala as to what he was doing qua Kidnapping Theory but that would not impair the values of the investigation which was being carried out under my instructions. But during the investigation Nagarvala never told me anything about kidnapping as far as I remember'. Nagarvala never told him that the Delhi Police officers had mentioned the name of the editor of Agranee and there was not even an inkling of Godse and Apte being in the conspiracy before the murder. Nagarvala had not told him that Delhi Police officers had asked him to arrest the editor of the Agranee. Had this name been mentioned even the most incompetent officer would have arrested him.

  V.T. DEHEJIA. WIT. 84

  18.79 An other important witness as to the events preceding the throwing of the bomb and the murder of Mahatma Gandhi is V.T. Dehejia, I.C.S. (Retired)—witness No. 84. At the relevant time, i.e., from about August 1947 to sometime after the murder, he was the Home Secretary in the Home Department of Bombay Province.

  18.80 Under the directions of the Premier, Kher, and subsequent discussions with the Home Minister and the Secretariat officials, a direction was sent to the Provincial C.I.D. and the Commissioner of Police to compile a list of officers of the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS The list prepared for Poona was ex. 114 and for Ahmednagar Ex. 114-A which was sent to the Government from Poona. By a letter to Dehejia, Ex. 113-A, dated 19 August 1947, Rana D.I.G., C.I.D., said that arrangements had been made to keep a watch on the activities of the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha and periodical reports would be sent. It seems that later Rana suggested that as secret weekly reports were being sent, it was perhaps not necessary to send special reports which had been ordered; on which Dehejia wrote that they were necessary. The matter was put before a meeting of the Provincial Cabinet and it was decided to discontinue the periodical reports on these two organisations and Rana was informed accordingly.

  18.81 Dehejia was examined on all these matters in detail in regard to the special reports, he has stated that as there was apprehension of violence which was indicated by rabid speeches made on the anti- Pakistan observance day and also as there was apprehension that there might be trouble on 15th August 1947, Independence Day, the witness thought that the continuance of special reports on these organisations to be necessary in spite of what Rana had suggested.

  18.82 When asked why special reports were necessary, his reply was that there was a report of the proposed observance of the Anti Pakistan Day' and in order to check the trouble on that day the special reports were necessary but evidently the danger had passed and therefore the authorities thought that the special reports were no longer necessary.

  18.83 The Commission then examined him in regard to the statement of G.V. Ketkar about the hostile sentiments allegedly rife in Poona against Mahatma Gandhi, he replied that these sentiments appeared to come in waves. After the Partition they were directed against the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi and again when he undertook the fast, similar sentiments were against him. The hostile sentiments were largely ignited by the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS.

  18.87 When his attention was drawn to Dr. Parchure's speech about 'Nehru and Gandhi reaping the fruits of their sins in a short time' he said that if he had learnt about it he would have been put on guard but he would not have concluded there from that Gandhiji and Nehru were going to be murdered but he would not let the speech pass without any further inquiry.

  18.87-A. As a matter of fact the District Magistrate was asked by the Government about this speech of Dr. Parchure but his reply based on the report of the D.S.P. was that the report of the speech was based on the police reporter's memory as the speech was in Hindi and there were no Hindi shorthand reporters in Poona Police That might perhaps be the reason for the immobility of the police or the quiescence of the Bombay authorities but the sentence is so telling that the police reporter would not have put in unless some such words were said. Commission of course presumes that the reporter knew Hindi and did not have a mind which could imagine or make up things.

  18.92 Although the noting of Secretariat files of this witness has shown clear grasp of the problems which arose at different times indicating a vigilant mind the Commission is unable to accept some of the statements of this witness particularly that there was no atmosphere of violence discernible from the newspapers and from the speeches made by various people in Poona. The evidence of Messers Ketkar, Khadilkar and the late N.V. Gadgil and the documents which have been produced shows not only a general atmosphere of violence but a particular slant directed against Congress leaders in general and Mahatma Gandhi in particular. The -intensity of feelings against Mahatma Gandhi was the consequence of what was considered to be the appeasment of Muslims at the cost of the Hindus, of which the Partition, the post prayer speeches of Gandhiji and the giving away of Rs. 55 crores were outward manifestations. On a matter like this the people who are non-official, who move in non-official circles and are generally in touch with the general state of affairs of a town and sentiments of the citizen have a better knowledge than the officials. Even though they happen to be clever, vigilant and wide-awake. This is particularly so in the case of non-official gentlemen who take a prominent part politics whatever colour of the spectrum it may assume.

  KANJI DWARKADAS, WIT. 7

  18.93 Kanji Dwarkadas witness No.7 is a Labour leader, a follower of Mrs. Besant and a Socialist. He deposed that two days before the murder, B.G. Kher went to Mahatma Gandhi and told him that Poona Brahmins were committed to kill him and as it was his day of silence, Mahatma Gandhi wrote on a piece of paper, 'If I have to die, I shall die. I do not want any police protection'. Kher also told the witness that Nathuram Godse was running a rabid Hindu Mahasabha paper and that he knew that these people were after Gandhiji and that the Delhi C.I.D. did not take the Bombay Police into confidence, otherwise they would have immediately come to know about Nathuram Godse. He had also said that from the recovery of a shirt in the Marina Hotel which had a Dhobi mark 'Nathuram Godse' the police should have been able to trace him. (The 'Dhobi', Laundry, mark on the shirt recovered from Marina Hotel did not say 'Nathuram Godse' as mentioned by Kanji Dwarkadas the mark was 'N.V.G.' which coupled with other clues given by Madanlal should have been easy to connect with Nathuram V. Godse.)

  18.94 The Communist paper People's Age had been saying since August 1947 that the Mahatma was going to be murdered, that the Delhi Police was infiltrated by RSS people and that the Deputy Commissioner of Delhi, Randhawa, was behind the movement and they were not keen to protect the life of Mahatma Gandhi.

  18.95 He further stated that a Doctor friend of his, Dr. X in Alwar state, went to Mahatma Gandhi in the middle of December 1947 and told him that Alwar and Bharatpur States were in the conspiracy. Acharya Jugal Kishore had also warned Gandhiji about it. The Doctor above mentioned had sent a leaflet to Acharya Jugal Kishore that said that Gandhiji must be murdered and the Acharya wrote back to the Doctor that he would place the leaflet before Gandhiji and Panditji.

  JAYPRAKSH NARAYAN, WIT. 98

  18.102A Jayprakash Narayan, witness No. 98, stated
that he had no recollection of sending a man to Purushottam with the information regarding danger to the life of Mahatma Gandhi.

  'I have no recollection if I had sent a man to him. If I had sent a man to him that would mean that I had taken the information seriously, which I did not. That may be wrong on my part but this is exactly what happened and I am stating so.'

  18.102B. He added, 'At that time it must have appeared very incredible to anyone to whom this information was given.'

  18.102C. He also did not speak to Gandhiji about this information nor to Sardar Patel. He had a great deal of respect for Sardar Patel although they did not see eye to eye on political matters. He (Narayan) did blame the police for not being vigilant. He was surprised that any Indian could have committed the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. It made no difference as to where he came from. He was not aware that there was a party of militant people who would commit violence against the person of Mahatma Gandhi. There was a strong antagonism between the group of Tilakites and Gandhiites, the Kesari Group and the Savarkarites but that was all on political level. He could not imagine anyone would commit murder of Mahatma Gandhi whatever be the differences.

  Jayprakash Narayan's testimony before the Kapur Commission is very surprising. Previously both Sardar Patel's Secretary Shankar, and his daughter Maniben have testified that immediately after the murder Jayprakash Narayan carried out a very public campaign against Sardar Patel for his failure to protect Mahatma Gandhi, insinuating that he held Sardar Patel responsible for Gandhiji's murder. Before that, he is reported to have criticised the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS at Kirkee and other places for their violence and their attempt to violently destabilise the Indian Union. As compared to these facts contained in the Kapur Commission's Report, Jayprakash Narayan's testimony appears to be very watered down. It is also very unlike Jayaprakash Narayan. It would have been illuminating to find out what brought about such a dramatic change in him. Alas JP, as he is famously remembered, is no more to shed light on the issue.