On January 30th, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated before his evening prayer at Birla house in Delhi.
Gandhi going for evening prayer in Birla House
The road where the Birla house stands has been renamed as Thees January Marg since the assassination took place on January 30th.
Cement Foorprint of Mahatma Gandhi at Thees January Marg
The government of India observes this day as Martyrs’ day, in remembrance of all those selfless people who sacrificed their lives in the freedom struggle.
The person who was standing next to Gandhi then, was his young personal secretary, Sri Kalyanam.
We had the good fortune of meeting Sri Kalyanam, who released our book “You Turn India” in Chennai.
Sri. Kalyanam, Personal Secretary of Mahatma Gandhi, 2nd from left, releasing our book “You Turn India”
Did Gandhi say “Hey Ram”, after being shot?
Sri Kalyanam, who was standing nearby, says he did not hear those words being uttered by Gandhi. Abha Gandhi who was pushed by Godse and into whose arms Gandhi fell, had countered Kalyanam. She says he said Hey Ram as he saw the gun. Kalyanam was a little behind and of course could not hear it.
Who heard what then, is in the realm of conjuncture.
The fact is the world has come to accept it, that Gandhi did say “Hey Ram”.
Speaking about prayer, Gandhiji once said,
“Prayer has saved my life, without it I should have been a lunatic long ago. I feel that as food is indispensable for the body so was prayer indispensable for the soul. I find solace in life and in prayer.
With the Grace of God everything can be achieved. When His Grace filled one’s being nothing was impossible for one to achieve.
Prayer is nothing else but an intense longing of the heart. You may express yourself through the lips; you may express yourself in the private closet or in the public; but to be genuine, the expression must come from the deepest recesses of the heart… It is my constant prayer that I may never have a feeling of anger against my traducers, that even if I fall a victim to an assassin’s bullet, I may deliver my soul with the remembrance of God upon my lips.”
At Peace with Oneself
For a person to say Hey Ram when one is shot at, shows the internal calm of a person. It shows the peace a person has come to be with oneself, with life itself.
A task accomplished in one’s life, for one’s purpose of being born.
In Gandhiji’s case, a mission to liberate India from colonial yoke and set a model which the world did emulate.
Raj Ghat, the memorial, marking the cremation spot of Gandhi