Original subtitles

January 30, 1948.

The Burla House, Delhi.

One of the most iconic figures in 20th century history walks to his regular

evening prayer meeting.

As he gets to the end of this path, a man steps out of the crowd.

Three shots ring out.

The father of Indian independence collapses.

Why would anyone want to shoot him?

Just as his greatest dream has been realized.

January the 31st, 1948, Delhi.

The day after being felled by an assassin's bullet, Mohandas Gandhi, the

Mahatma, the Great Soul, is cremated.

It is just five months since his life's work, the independence of the Indian

subcontinent from British rule, has been achieved.

But Gandhi is only one of millions to die violently, for the way this freedom

gained has stirred up virulent hatreds.

It is a fanatic of his own religion who kills him, and the rage which drives

this assassin springs from deep in Indian history.

When Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is born in 1869, the British have effectively

controlled the Indian subcontinent for more than a century.

But behind the glittering facade of the jewel in the crown of Queen Victoria's

empire Demands for home rule are growing, and India remains a patchwork

political and religious tensions.

Hinduism is a religion of three quarters of the population, with Islam the

second most numerous faith.

But there are also Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists, Christians, and scores of

sects.

Gandhi is born near the top of this teeming pyramid.

His father is first minister of one of the semi -independent princely states,

and his mother is a devout and high -caste Hindu.

She imbues her son with ideals of pacifism and the sanctity of all life.

After studying law in London, Gandhi is offered a post in South Africa.

There he is shocked by widespread racism.

He soon becomes one of the leaders of a movement to improve the rights of the

Indian community.

December 12, 1911, Delhi.

The accession of King George V as Emperor of India is celebrated by a

magnificent Durbar.

But the following year, the fragility of this empire is shown.

While Delhi is being consecrated as the capital of India, a bomb is thrown at

the Governor General, Lord Hardy.

It wounds him and kills an aide.

Gandhi speaks out against the use of violence.

In 1915, Gandhi returns to India.

He finds the British Raj just as repressive as in South Africa and soon

the Indian Congress Party, the focus of demands for Indian independence.

Another member of the Congress Party is the Muslim lawyer Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

He is also a member of the Muslim League, which had been founded in 1906

defend Islamic interests.

At this stage, both religions envisage a single, independent India.

Gandhi also begins organizing strikes and protests by poverty -stricken

against their rapacious landlords, but insists that these must remain peaceful,

and non -violent.

April the 19th, 1919, Amritsar.

British troops open fire on a crowd protesting illegally but peacefully in

central square, the Jallianwala Bagh.

In the panic, 379 are killed and 1 ,200 seriously injured.

There is widespread outrage across India and demands for violent action.

Gandhi remains adamant that only peaceful methods of protest should be

But he is now convinced that the British must be forced to leave India.

His ideas cause a break with Jinnah, who quits the Congress Party.

It is an early hint of the splits which will bedevil the quest for Indian

independence.

Gandhi soon becomes the effective leader of the Congress Party.

He is determined to show the British how non -violence can win India its

independence.

November 1921, Bombay. A ceremonial visit by the Prince of Wales gives

opportunity to publicise his campaign against one of the injustices of the

the import of foreign goods, particularly British cloth.

While the crowds are cheering the prince's arrival, Gandhi lights a

imported cloth and clothes.

The police move in and break up the demonstration violently.

Gandhi follows this with a campaign of non -cooperation.

British courts, government offices and educational institutions are boycotted

and British titles and honours rejected.

March the 10th, 1922.

Gandhi is arrested for sedition.

He cheerfully pleads guilty and is sentenced to six years in prison.

He's released after two, following an operation for appendicitis.

While he is in prison, the Congress party splits.

Ominously, a rift is opening between Hindus and Muslims over whether to use

non -violent tactics.

Gandhi works hard to reunify the independence movement.

He continues to speak out against British rule, while insisting, not

successfully, that only non -violent methods should be used.

December 1928, Calcutta.

Gandhi pushes a resolution through the Congress Party, calling on the British

grant India dominion status.

or face a new campaign of non -violence with complete independence as its goal.

The British ignore the demand.

January 26, 1930, Lahore.

The Indian National Congress meets to celebrate India National Day.

The die has been cast, and Gandhi soon follows up this announcement with direct

action.

March 12, 1930, Ahmedabad.

Gandhi starts a major campaign of civil disobedience by beginning a 248 -mile

march to the sea.

April 6, Dandi.

He and thousands of supporters gather salt in contravention of the law that

can only be bought from a government monopoly.

The British reaction is extreme.

with the imprisonment of 60 ,000 people.

Another ominous development is that while Gandhi's campaign of civil

disobedience is dominating the headlines, the Muslim League first

a separate Islamic state might be necessary when independence is achieved.

May 5, 1930, Delhi.

Gandhi is again arrested for sedition, but released in March 1931.

to represent the Congress Party at a roundtable conference on Indian self

being held in London.

On his arrival in Britain, clad in his usual loincloth and shawl, Gandhi stays

in the poverty -stricken East End, because he says that he prefers living

his own kind.

But the result of his mission is deep disappointment.

Gandhi finds himself confronted by a Muslim delegation, which demand separate

Muslim provinces and separate elections for purely Islamic seats in any

legislature.

There is little progress towards self -rule.

Nevertheless, Gandhi remains adamant about his ultimate objective.

My speech at the roundtable conference has been all officially reported.

Call that as you like. It is complete independence that we want.

On his return to India, Gandhi announces the resumption of civil disobedience.

The British react swiftly.

January the 4th, 1931, Bombay.

Gandhi is rearrested, and over the next two months, more than 30 ,000 of his

followers are also in prison.

During his time in prison, and after his release in 1933,

Gandhi is increasingly sidelined, and the campaign of civil disobedience

out.

June the 25th, 1934, Pune, near Bombay.

But it is during this period that the first attempt to assassinate Gandhi is

made.

While travelling to deliver a speech, Gandhi's car is separated from its

at a level crossing.

The escort reaches the venue first, and a bomb is thrown at it.

Ten people are injured, but it is never discovered which of his enemies is

responsible.

In October 1934, Gandhi quits the Congress Party after a disagreement over

whether it should take part in constitutional discussions with the

The leadership passes to his disciple, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Gandhi retires to an ashram to dedicate himself to the spiritual life.

Meanwhile, the British government introduces the Government of India Act.

This gives considerable powers to democratically elected provincial

In the first local elections in 1937, Congress triumphantly takes control in

eight of the eleven provinces.

The Muslim League dominates the other three.

Unfortunately, Congress refuses to consider any sort of coalition with the

Muslims in areas where they have considerable support.

Jinnah and other Muslim leaders turn increasingly to the idea of a separate

state.

September 2nd, 1939, Delhi.

As Britain declares war on Nazi Germany, India's Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow,

immediately announces, without any attempt to consult the Indians, that

also at war.

Nehru and the Congress Party are outraged.

They announce that unless Indian independence is promised once victory

achieved, they will withdraw from all cooperation with the war effort.

Gandhi goes further, declaring that India should not take part in a war

supposedly being fought to save democratic freedom when that freedom is

denied to India.

The British refuse to respond, and thousands of Indian troops go overseas

fight loyally in the Middle East.

December 8, 1941, Malaya.

The situation changes dramatically as Japanese troops invade.

They are soon sweeping the British back.

January 15, 1942, Burma.

The Japanese blitzkrieg bursts into a second British colony.

Once again, the British forces are soon in headlong retreat back to the Indian

border.

January 31, 1942, Singapore.

British forces humiliatingly surrender their great fortress to the Japanese.

Their colonial empire in the Far East seems on the verge of collapse.

Desperate to shore it up, the British government sends a mission headed by a

senior Labour politician, Sir Stafford Cripps, to India, with a new offer.

Independence will be possible after the war, provided Congress now backs the war

effort.

Gandhi immediately declares that he will never approve anything which supports

war and that talks break down.

August 8, 1942, Delhi.

Gandhi calls on the British to quit India and announces another campaign of

civil disobedience.

The next day, he and all leading Congress politicians are imprisoned.

The civil disobedience campaign swiftly turns into widespread rioting and

sabotage. The British respond with force and crush the rebellion by the end of

September.

Ominously, Jinnah and the Muslim League refuse to become involved in the Quit

India movement.

In 1940, they had reaffirmed their commitment to an independent Muslim

be called Pakistan.

Now they are ready to wait and see how matters develop.

May the 6th, 1944.

Gandhi falls ill with malaria.

Fearful that his death in prison might provoke fresh rioting, the British

release him.

Concerned to maintain a united front with the Muslim League, Gandhi attempts

win Jinnah over to the idea of a referendum about a separate Islamic

India has achieved independence.

But Jinnah insists that the decision must be made before the British leave

the talks break down.

Gandhi again retires into private life.

June 1945, Delhi.

With Germany defeated and the Japanese driven out of Burma, Lord Wavell, the

Viceroy, releases the remainder of the Congress leadership.

He then calls a conference in Simla to discuss the formation of a new executive

council as the first step towards an independent India.

Gandhi is present, but the conference ends when it becomes evident that Jinnah

and the Muslim League are determined to achieve their own independent state.

July 1945, London.

The sweeping victory of the Labour Party in the British general election makes

it clear that Indian independence will soon come.

But the rift between Hindu and Muslim politicians in India is becoming

unbridgeable, and vital decisions cannot be postponed any longer.

March 1945, Karachi.

A British cabinet mission arrives to discuss independence.

Gandhi resists any suggestion the provinces might be grouped into

blocs and the talks soon break down.

By now, the widespread knowledge that independence is only a matter of time

seen an upsurge in violence between Hindu and Muslim extremists.

In an attempt to break the deadlock...

British Prime Minister Clement Attlee decides to replace Wavell with a younger

and hopefully more flexible and persuasive Viceroy, Admiral Lord Louis

Mountbatten, the head of Southeast Asia Command during the war.

March 24, 1947, Delhi.

Mountbatten is sworn in as Viceroy.

During a brief speech... He shocks India by announcing that power will be

transferred to an independent state by April 1948, just 14 months away.

Mountbatten now plunges into discussions with the Indian political leaders.

He and his wife Edwina swiftly establish good relations both with Nehru and

Gandhi. But the cold, austere Jinnah is a different matter.

No amount of charm and persuasion can lessen his determination to achieve an

independent Islamic state.

Meanwhile, the inter -religious rioting is getting worse.

Partition is the only answer.

The majority of Muslims support Jinnah in his insistence on a separate state,

but many Hindu nationalists are vehemently opposed to a partition of

Prominent among these is Vinayak Savakar, leader of the Hindu Mahasabha

which had been founded in 1911 to protect Hindu national interests.

Mountbatten and Edwina are swiftly able to persuade Nehru to accept the idea of

partition.

Their charm offensive on Gandhi finally makes him realize that he must abandon

the dreams of a lifetime and see his country split in two.

But Gandhi's change of heart is seen by many Hindu extremists as a gross

betrayal.

June the 3rd, 1947, London.

Prime Minister Attlee announces that British India will be divided into the

independent states of India and Muslim Pakistan.

And that this will happen not in a year's time, but in just 14 weeks.

Mountbatten has insisted that if partition is to occur, it would be best

were done quickly.

Very quickly.

The news intensifies the unrest in the subcontinent as what would today be

called ethnic cleansing begins on a huge scale.

Millions of Hindus and Muslims living on the wrong side of the new borders leave

their homes and flee, taking what little they can.

Rioters encourage them to go.

Bandits attack them as they are on the move.

More than a million people are killed in the horror.

It is even worse than Gandhi had imagined possible.

He works to try to prevent Hindu -Muslim riots and killings as the midnight of

independence approaches.

On the day of partition, he is in Calcutta, trying to quell disturbances.

The speed at which partition has been imposed means that many decisions about

the precise line of the border are left pending.

Within weeks, war breaks out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and

disputed territories.

And India's refusal to pay Pakistan its share of the treasury reserves.

January 13, 1948, Delhi.

Gandhi makes himself even more unpopular with Hindu extremists when he announces

a fast unto death if the Indian government will not pay Pakistan what it

The government gives way, pays the money, and agrees to a truce with

This is the moment when two members of the extremist Hindu Mahasabha, Nataram

Godse and Narayam Apte, decide that Gandhi...

must die.

The two men are running an ultra -Hindu nationalist newspaper in Pune, near

Bombay, the city where Gandhi had been imprisoned.

Both are involved in protest demonstrations against Gandhi.

January the 20th, 1948, the Burla House, Delhi.

At the house where Gandhi usually stays when he is in the capital, a small bomb

explodes without doing any harm while he is holding an audience.

Godsey and Apte are amongst the crowd.

January 29, 1948, Delhi.

Godsey and Apte return, having bought a Beretta semi -automatic pistol and seven

rounds of ammunition.

On the following day, Godsey and Afty go to the Burla house for Gandhi's regular

evening prayers.

As usual, a crowd is gathered by the dais at the end of the garden at which

prayers are said.

Gandhi is adamant that entry must be open to anyone who wishes to attend.

Supported by two of his human walking sticks, Gandhi leaves his room and sets

off across the lawn.

As he reaches the crowd, Godse steps forward and then shoots him three times

the chest.

As he collapses, Gandhi is said to have gasped, Rama.

Godse does not attempt to flee and is arrested on the spot.

His accomplice Apti is arrested later and put on trial with Godse and five

others, including Godse's brother Gopal and Savakar, the leader of the Hindu

Mahasabha.

Godse's only defense is that he had been outraged by Gandhi's decision to help

the Muslims and agree to partition.

After an eight -month trial, he and Apti are condemned to death.

Savakar is released for lack of evidence.

while the others are imprisoned for life.

November the 15th, 1949, Delhi.

Godsey and Apte are hanged at dawn.

Gandhi had been cremated on the banks of the river Jumna the day after his

assassination.

Over the next half century, India and Pakistan fight two more conventional

and come to the brink of a nuclear exchange.

Whether a united India would have proved any less dangerous to the peace of the

region will never be known.

But Gandhi's ideals of peaceful coexistence and pacifism had been

history well before the fanatics of his own religion caught up with him.