On This Day : In 1948 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was assassinated. Gandhi was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He pioneered satyagraha, which is defined as resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence. This concept helped India to gain independence, and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was shot while he was walking to a platform from which he was to address a prayer meeting. The assassin, Nathuram Godse, was a Hindu nationalist with links to the extremist Hindu Mahasabha, who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by insisting upon a payment to Pakistan. Godse and his co-conspirator Narayan Apte were later tried and convicted; they were executed on 15 November 1949. Gandhi’s philosophy has continued to inspire movements around the world that demand protection and respect for indigenous peoples and human rights.
