Gopal Godse

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Gopal Vinayak Godse (12 June 1919 – 26 November 2005) was an Indian Hindutva activist who helped plot the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. He was Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse’s brother.

After Gandhi was shot on January 30, 1948, Gopal Godse was arrested and later convicted for conspiring to kill Gandhi. He served 16 years in prison and was released in 1964. He did not repent for his actions; in a 2003 interview he said he did not regret it.

Following his release, Godse lived in Pune and supported himself from royalties from books he wrote about the assassination. In 1993, he released Why I Assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, a book written by his brother Nathuram Godse. He and Nathuram, along with Narayan Apte and Madanlal Pahwa, had earlier attempted to kill Gandhi; Pahwa was arrested in that abortive attempt.

The Godse brothers and their co-conspirators were long-time members of the RSS, a connection the RSS later distanced itself from. Some of Godse’s books were promoted by Organiser, the RSS’s magazine, in 1997. Gopal Godse died at his home in Pune in 2005 at the age of 86. He was married to Sindhu Godse and had two daughters and a son.

A Marathi play, Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy, was based on Godse’s book May It Please You Honour, reflecting his and Nathuram’s views on the Gandhi case.