Hindu Mahasabha wants school chapter on Godse

BHOPAL: The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha on Friday submitted a memorandum to the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, demanding a chapter on Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin

Nathuram Godse

in school syllabus “so that the young generation can be acquainted with his contribution to the nation”.

In particular, Hindu Mahasabha wants Godse’s ‘final statement in court’ to make it to textbooks. Godse’s statement at his trial at the Red Fort in 1948 was banned from publication but the prohibition was lifted by Bombay high court in 1968.

“When the ban has been lifted, why can’t there be a chapter on him? Let children today know his contribution, and the real story behind Gandhi’s assassination,” said Dr Jayveer Bharadwaj, national vice-chairman of Hindu Mahasabha that marks January 30 — the day the Mahatma was assassinated — as Shaurya Diwas, and November 15 — the day Godse was hanged in 1949 — as ‘martyrdom day’.

In saffron caps and with tilaks on their foreheads, some 20 Mahasabha members observed Godse’s ‘70th martyrdom day’ at the organisation’s office in Gwalior’s Daulatganj area on Friday. They offered flowers to a photograph of Godse which had the word ‘hutatma’ (martyr) prefixed to his name.

In November 2017, the Mahasabha had tried to build a Godse temple, but the Shivraj Singh Chouhan administration cracked down, and seized a bust of Gandhi’s killer from the Daulatganj office. It is now in the custody of the additional district magistrate.

In the memorandum to CM Kamal Nath, Hindu Mahasabha has not only asked for a school chapter on Godse, but also demanded return of the Godse bust, and permission to install it.

The installation of Godse’s bust in Gwalior by Hindu Mahasabha and attempts to build a temple had triggered a political storm in the state, with Congress demanding a ban on the organisation.Mahasabha members threatened to immolate themselves if the bust was removed. Congress staged protests across the state, demanding a sedition case against the organisation. On November 22, 2017, Gwalior administration seized the bust, pointing out that building a temple without government permission was a cognisable offence under Madhya Pradesh Sarvajanik Sthan (Dharmik Bhawan Evam Gatividhiyon Ka Viniyaman) Sanshodhan Adhiniyam, 2001.