Editing Nathuram Godse (section)

==RSS membership==

Godse joined RSS in [[Sangli]] (Maharashtra) in 1932 as a ''boudhik karyawah'' (ground worker), and simultaneously remained a member of the [[Hindu Mahasabha]], both right-wing organisations. He often wrote articles in newspapers to publicise his thoughts. During this time, Godse and [[M. S. Golwalkar]], later [[list of Sarsanghchalaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh|RSS chief]], often worked together, and they translated Babarao Savarkar's book "Rashtra Mimansa" into English. They had a falling out when Golwalkar took the entire credit for this translation.{{Citation needed|reason=story needs verification|date=November 2017}} In the early 1940s, Godse formed his own organisation, "Hindu Rashtra Dal"<ref>{{cite book|last=Hansen|first=Thomas Blom|author-link=Thomas Blom Hansen|title=The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAqn3OIGE54C&pg=PA249|year=1999|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=1-4008-2305-6|page=249}}</ref> on the [[Vijayadashami]] day of 1942,<ref>{{cite news|title=EXPOSED: The Hindu Rashtra Dal: Inside India's most violent far right groups|url=https://www.indianewsco.com/exposed-the-hindu-rashtra-dal-inside-indias-most-violent-far-right-groups|access-date=21 April 2023|publisher=India News Co.|date=6 November 2014}}</ref> though he continued to remain a member of the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha.<ref name="et">{{cite news|last1=Venugopal|first1=Vasudha|title=Nathuram Godse never left RSS, says his family|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/nathuram-godse-never-left-rss-says-his-family/articleshow/54159375.cms|access-date=4 July 2017|publisher=Economic times|date=8 September 2016}}</ref>

In 1946, Godse claimed to have left the RSS and moved to the Hindu Mahasabha over the issue of the partition of India. However, historical sources do not corroborate this claim; an investigation published by [[The Caravan]] in January 2020 revealed that up until his final days, Godse was listed as a member in records kept by the RSS of meetings that took place long after he was supposed to have left the organisation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jha |first1=Dhirendra K. |title=The Apostle of Hate |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/historical-record-expose-lie-godse-left-rss |website=The Caravan |publisher=Delhi Press |access-date=8 January 2020}}</ref> His family has also said that he had never left the RSS, highlighting that he held membership at the RSS as well as the Hindu Mahasabha.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/nathuram-godse-never-left-rss-says-his-family/articleshow/54159375.cms|title=Nathuram Godse never left RSS, says his family|first=Vasudha|last=Venugopal|date=8 September 2016|newspaper=The Economic Times}}</ref> Godse's 1946 claim is also refuted by his first deposition in Marathi after he assassinated Gandhi, where he says that while he did join the Hindu Mahasabha, "I remained active in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh."