Nathuram Godse's account of Bapu assassination 'Why I Assassinated Gandhi' goes for reprint

New Delhi, Dec 23: A revised English translation of the book "Why I Assassinated Gandhi", containing Nathuram Godse's statement during his trial along with the judgment and his will, is now heading for a reprint, according to the publishers.

"After having read Nathuram Godse's statement reproduced by his brother Gopal Godse, I felt the need to compile Gopal Godse's work with Justice Khosla's narrative," says Virender Mehra, who has compiled and edited the book published by Delhi-based Farsight Publishers and Distributors.

Asked about the reason for the reprint, Farsight owner Vijay Goel said, "We have sold out 1,000 copies of the book and have ordered second print edition for another 1,000 copies. This is a normal sale record because typically the figure for books by authors like Chetan Bhagat is over 5 lakh. The book is now available with all prominent booksellers."

On January 30, 1948, Godse shot dead Mahatma Gandhi and surrendered to authorities. He put forward a detailed statement at his trial at the Red Fort in 1948.

A ban on publication of the statement was lifted by the Bombay High Court in 1968. Godse's younger brother Gopal, also an accused in the Gandhi murder case, penned the book in Marathi seeking to "present the statement of Nathuram in an unabridged form". "Law gives a special kind of sanctity to 'dying declarations'.

The statement of Nathuram Godse, in the circumstances in which it was made, commands itself to no less a sanctity" writes Gopal.

First penned in Marathi, the book was printed in Hindi in 1970 and in English in 1993 by Delhi-based Surya Bharti Prakashan.

"We made an arrangement last year end with Surya Bharti Prakashan and they agreed to let us publish an English version of the book. They basically deal with books in Hindi and were not able to sell well the English version of Godse's book," Goel told PTI.

Noting that he did not have any "personal opinion" on the subject, Goel said, "We decided to print it because there are many books on Mahatma Gandhi and there is a curiosity among people to hear about the other side."

The 208-paged paperback contains a translation of Godse's will along with photographs of "all the accused and persons related to the case to give readers a comprehensive picture". Meanwhile Arun Gupta of Surya Bharti Prakashan said the book on Godse had always been in print.

"There was not much sales and we did one print every year. The new English version by Farsight has several changes from what we brought out," Gupta said.

PTI