January 30, 1948
Gandhiji was staying at Birla Bhawan, Delhi.
Early morning: The day began as usual, with Bapu listening to a recitation of the Bhagavad Gita.
He then worked on a Congress Constitution he wanted to publish in The Harijan .
At lunch, he discussed the Noakhali violence with his private secretary Pyarelal.
After a nap, he met with Sardar Vallabhai Patel.
Two Kathiawar leaders wanted to meet him, and when Manuben informed Gandhiji he said, “Tell them that, if I remain alive, they can talk to after the prayer on my walk.”
The meeting with Patel went on longer than the scheduled time and Gandhiji was ten minutes late to the prayer meeting.
He walked to the prayer location with Manuben on his right and Abha Chatterjee on the left.
Just then a stout young man in khaki pushed his way through the crowd, and when he came close, bent over with his hands folded.
Manuben pushed him aside saying, “Bapu is already late, why do you embarrass him?”
The man pushed Manuben and she lost her balance and the rosary, notebook and Gandhiji’s spitoon she was carrying fell out of her hands. She bent to pick up the fallen items...
She heard four shots ring out and saw smoke everywhere.
When she looked she saw Gandhiji and Abha had fallen. Gandhiji lay on Abha’s lap, his hands folded, saying “Hei Ram...ma! Hei Ra...”.
Herbert Reiner Jr, a 32-year old, newly arrived vice-consul at the American embassy in Delhi, rushed forward and seized the shoulders of the man in the khaki coat and shoved him toward several police guards.
The man was Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right wing advocate of Hindu nationalism who believed that Gandhiji favoured the political demands of India’s muslims during the Partition.
Everything was over in minutes. The crowd rushed forward. Manuben looked at the watch. It was 5:17 p.m. There was blood all over their white clothes. Everyone was crying loudly.
Gandhiji was carried back into the house. There was no doctor available. Manuben and the others read the Gita as Gandhiji’s body lay in the room.
