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Where Gandhi died 65 years ago - this day
Wednesday January 30, 2013 01:02:23 PM,
Gaurav Sharma,
IANS
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New Delhi: The faintly
heard traffic commotion does not affect the serenity of 5, Tees
January Marg, a leafy avenue in the heart of the Indian capital,
where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life and where
he was assassinated on Jan 30, 1948.
The expansive premises, which houses a museum that showcases the
life and philosophy of the man Indians revere as the Father of the
Nation, it is difficult to imagine that the man who always
preached peace was violently killed by a Hindu zealot, Nathuram
Godse.
The only indication that such a violent act happened at this
peaceful surroundings are the cemented foot marks - that indicate
the path that Mahatma Gandhi took when he came out to meet people
on that fateful day - on the manicured lawn. The path leads to a
simple white, canopied marble plaform with the inscription "Hey
Ram".
Escorted by his grandnieces Abha and Manu, Gandhi was going for
his evening prayers.
Gandhi, who was clad in his familiar white dhoti and wraparound,
was shot thrice from point blank range. The first indication that
he was shot was when a sparkling crimson spot appeared on his
white cloth.
It was at 5.17 pm.
His last words were -- Hey Ram.
Kuldip Nayar, veteran journalist, still remembers the day. "I was
working for the Urdu newspaper Anjam at that time when I heard the
alerting bell of the news agency ticker. I rushed to the
teleprinter and read the incredible words: 'Gandhi shot'.
"I sank into a chair, but then recovered my wits to rush to Birla
House. There was complete pandemonium there. Gandhi was lying
swathed with a white sheet and people were crying all around him.
Nehru was there, looking shocked and shaken," Nayar told IANS.
"Not knowing what to do, I went and reverently touched the chair
where Gandhi had last sat. My only thoughts where: what will
happen to my country now!"
The premises were earlier known as Birla House which was owned by
industrialist G.D.Birla, who had offered it to Gandhi as a place
of residence and where he held his important political meetings,
including with the nation's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
"Though it has been 65 years, nation cannot forget him. And the
youth still come to Gandhi Smriti," said Krishna, 27, a volunteer
here at Gandhi Smriti (Gandhi Memorial) that has been turned into
a museum.
"Gandhi ji used to stay in Panchkuian Road in Paharganj in New
Delhi but he was requested to move here following communal
violence. So he came here," Krishna told IANS.
The subcontinent was witnessing unprecedented communal violence
after India and Pakistan were partitioned.
The nation Wednesday will observe the 65the death anniversary of
the man also fondly called "Bapu".
Gandhi, who is revered world over as an apostle of peace, was a
great believer in inter-faith harmony and fought all his life for
it.
(Gaurav Sharma can be contacted at gaurav.s@ians.in)
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