60 Years Ago Today
Mohandas Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist. Gandhi first fought for the rights of Indian people in South Africa before returning home to India in 1915 to join the Indian independence movement.
He gave up western ways to lead a life of spirituality and launched a campaign of civil disobedience against British oppression. In 1947, he was a leading figure in the negotiations that led to Indian statehood. He called the granting of independence the noblest act of the British nation, but was distressed by the religious partition of the former Mogul Empire into India and Pakistan.
When violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims in 1947, he resorted to fasts and visits to the troubled areas in an effort to end the religious strife. He was on one such vigil when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu who objected to Gandhi's tolerance for the Muslims, fatally shot him.
He gave up western ways to lead a life of spirituality and launched a campaign of civil disobedience against British oppression. In 1947, he was a leading figure in the negotiations that led to Indian statehood. He called the granting of independence the noblest act of the British nation, but was distressed by the religious partition of the former Mogul Empire into India and Pakistan.
When violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims in 1947, he resorted to fasts and visits to the troubled areas in an effort to end the religious strife. He was on one such vigil when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu who objected to Gandhi's tolerance for the Muslims, fatally shot him.
