Published Aug 18, 2026 | 3:17 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 18, 2026 | 3:17 PM
Satyaki confirmed that his mother was the daughter of Gopal Godse, brother of Nathuram Godse and that the Godse and Savarkar families were relatives.
Synopsis: In a Pune court hearing, Satyaki Savarkar, grandnephew of V.D. Savarkar, testified that Nathuram Godse and his brother Gopal were active RSS members. The statement came during the hearing in a defamation case involving Rahul Gandhi, reviving debate over Godse’s organisational affiliations and the historical circumstances surrounding Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.
A testimony given by the complainant in the criminal defamation case against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, over his remarks on Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar, has reignited the longstanding debate over Nathuram Godse’s association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
During the cross-examination before a Special MP/MLA Court in Pune on August 17, Satyaki Savarkar, grandnephew of V.D. Savarkar and the complainant in the case, told the court that Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse and his brother Gopal Godse were active members of the RSS. The testimony came while Satyaki was being questioned by Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer, Milind Pawar.
Satyaki acknowledged that his maternal grandfather, Gopalrao Godse, and Savarkar were among those accused in the case concerning Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in January 1948. Satyaki also told the court that Nathuram Godse was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha. He said he was unaware of certain historical claims concerning Godse’s organisational activities and the involvement of other individuals in the assassination case.
“It is true to say that, my grand father Gopal Godse and Nathuram Godse were active members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. I do not know that, Gopal Godse had given an interview to front line monthly magazine on 28th January 1994. I do not know Nathuram Godse had work as Intellectual Executive in the year 1944. I do not know that, the second chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar and Digambar Badage were also made accused in Mahatma Gandhiji Murder case. I do not know Digambar Badage was arrested in Mahatma Gandhi Murder Case from Pune on January 31, 1948. I do not know Digambar Badage had tendered pardon in the Mahatma Gandhi murder case. It is true to say that, Nathuram Godse was member of Hindu Mahasabha Political Party,” he told the court, reported Live Law.
Satyaki confirmed that his mother was the daughter of Gopal Godse, who is the real brother of Nathuram Godse and admitted that both the Godse and Savarkar families were relatives.
According to the testimony recorded by the court, Nathuram Godse was accused No. 1 in the assassination case, while Narayan Apte, Vishnu Karkare, Madanlal Pahawa, Shankar Kistayya, Gopal Godse, V.D. Savarkar and D.S. Parchure were among the other accused.
“It is true to say that my grand uncle Nathuram Godse shot and killed Mahatma Gandhi while he was proceeding to Birla House, Delhi, for prayer. The witness volunteers that after Mahatma Gandhi was shot, he lay there unattended for about 20 minutes. Nobody took him to the nearby hospital. This was the apathy of the Government at that time towards Gandhiji,” he told the court.
Meanwhile, Satyaki’s council repeatedly raised objections to the questions stating that the matter had no relation to the defemation case. To this, the court responded that the objection will be considered at the time of the final decision.
The testimony is particularly significant because the RSS has historically maintained that Nathuram Godse had left the organisation before Gandhi’s assassination. Satyaki’s statement in court that both Nathuram and Gopal Godse were active RSS members therefore touches upon one of the most contested aspects of the political rhetoric surrounding Gandhi’s assassination.
The case stems from a complaint filed by Satyaki against Rahul Gandhi alleging that the Congress leader had been making false statements regarding V.D. Savarkar on different occasions. The complaint highlighted the remarks made by Gandhi while addressing the Overseas Congress in the United Kingdom on March 5, 2025.
In his complaint, Satyaki claimed that Gandhi had falsely accused Savarkar of writing a book in which he described beating up a Muslim person. He said the allegations were false and that the Hindutva leader never wrote such a book. He alleged that Gandhi made the statements with the specific objective of defaming Savarkar and harming his reputation.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
