Mahatma Gandhi's assassination on January 30, 1948, was a declaration of war and a statement of purpose. The crime was a declaration of war against the secular, democratic Indian state and all those who stood to uphold these ideals, as well as a proclamation of a long-term commitment to India as a 'Hindu Rashtra' for those who collaborated in the slaughter. It was also an act that signaled the end of India's anti-imperialist national movement. Beyond Doubt is a collection of historical and analytical texts that seeks to put the politics, reasons, and events surrounding Mahatma Gandhi's killing into context.
Since the new leadership in New Delhi came to power in May 2014, attempts to legitimate the act of killing and to commemorate the murders have increased. As a result, the time has come to correct the record. If we are to comprehend the political character of that horrible deed, we must chronicle the visceral hate spewed towards Gandhi and the denigration of everything he stood for. This book aims to weave together archival papers from Government of India archives pertaining to events following the assassination, as well as translations of writings in Marathi, Gujarati, and Hindi that dissect the philosophy behind the political assassination.
Several of the materials have already appeared in editions of Communalism Combat, but this collection contains fresh information on the subject. The dossier includes the first English translation of Jagan Phadnis' book Mahatmyache Akher, as well as Y.D. Phadke's study of attempts to legalize Gandhi's assassination and Chunibhai Vaidya's critique of Pradeep Dalvi's Godse drama. It also discusses the ongoing issue over the Indian government's deletion of papers related to Gandhi's killing. The second book of this dossier will provide a full introduction and comments to the Report of the Justice Kapur Commission, which was established to examine the Gandhi assassination.
Tulika Books is the publisher of the book, which will be released on June 15, 2020, and authored by Teesta Setalvad.
