When Gandhi’s pacifism failed him | ASSASSINS

Editor's note (22/12/2025): In this episode, we discuss how, under Gandhi’s leadership, the spinning wheel became a symbol of rebellion in India. We then say, “Which is why, to this day, that wheel appears on the Indian flag.” This is incorrect. Although it is true that the spinning wheel featured on an earlier version of the Indian flag, in 1947 it was replaced by the Ashoka Chakra.
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Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian activist who helped topple the British Empire, wasn't assassinated by colonisers, but by one of his own. When the struggle against the British was won, and India gained its independence, the ghosts of Partition lingered.

And finally caught up with the man of peace.

Why did Mahatma Gandhi, a man known for non-violence, meet such a traumatic end?
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00:00 A passing at Birla House
02:07 Hello my friend
04:01 Gandhi’s formative years
05:16 The South African interlude
06:10 What is ‘Satyagraha’?
07:26 The Mahatma returns
10:30 The Salt March
12:16 The battle for Independence
13:44 The Noakhali massacre
14:53 Partition
16:36 The assassin and the RSS
17:33 The motive
19:30 The assassination

Host: Aslan Pahari
Producer: Hannah Jose
Sound: John Jacobs
Video Producer: Tejas Bhat
Special thanks: Michael Osmond for archives research
Executive Producers: Joel Werner, Eric George, Jessica Radburn

To binge even more great episodes of ASSASSINS with Aslan Pahari go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more stories of the world's most shocking assassinations — from the lone wolf hitman to the professional assassin, you'll hear how famous figures like Abraham Lincoln, Benazir Bhutto, Ramses III, Tupac, Rasputin, and Gandhi met their end.

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