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This is an archive article published on November 16, 2015
Protests disrupt Nathuram Godse family function; book launch cancelled
The police said some of the protesters belonged to outfits opposed to the BJP and the RSS.
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Nathuram Godse was hanged on November 15, 1949.
Family members of Nathuram Godse held a programme Sunday to mark his 66th death anniversary. But they could not release a book that calls Nathuram a “martyr saint”, after youth shouting slogans gathered outside the Anandi Vilas building in Shivajinagar — the house of a Godse family member — where the event was being held.
Nathuram was hanged on November 15, 1949. Since 1950, every year on this day, his family and friends come together under the “Hutatma Nathuram Godse Icchapatra Nyaas” to perform rituals and pledge to work for the cause of “Akhanda Bharat” or Undivided India.
Godse believed that one day his dream of “Akhanda Bharat” would come true and the Sindhu River, which became a part of Pakistan after partition, would flow through India. His dying wish was to immerse his ashes in the Sindhu.
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The family has preserved the ashes. They were kept in a pot in front of the “Akhanda Bharat” image with Nathuram Godse’s picture, when more than 100 people gathered to pay homage to him on Sunday.
While a participant was speaking, a group of youths gathered outside and raised slogans in favour of Mahatma Gandhi. Police were already deployed on the spot and with the help of more officers summoned later, law and order trouble was prevented.
A family member, Ajinkya Godse said, “The police requested us not to release the book. We agreed to it. I live in Anandi Vilas. This is a family event in our building. Nobody should object to it.”
The police said some of the protesters belonged to outfits opposed to the BJP and the RSS.
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