It was on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary last year that National Institute of Technology Calicut Professor Shaija Andavan sparked a controversy by posting “Proud of Godse for saving India” as a comment on a Facebook post. Now, she is in the eye of the storm again, with NIT Calicut issuing an order appointing her the Dean of Planning and Development department.
The Congress and CPI(M) have already announced plans to launch an agitation against her appointment. Senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, K.C. Venugopal and Pawan Khera, too, have criticised the move.
Every now and then, but with unfailing regularity, THE MASK FALLS. Another Godse bhakt is rewarded by @narendramodi government as dean NIT Calicut. Mooh mein Ram, dil mein Nathuram that’s the Modi-led @BJP4India for you. https://t.co/pCQdtTQoWP
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) February 27, 2025
Notably, Andavan made the comment under a post by Advocate Krishna Raj, a hardline proponent of Hindutva ideology. Speaking to THE WEEK, Krishna Raj, who practises at the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court, dismissed the controversy as “purely political”.
“A normal Hindu, a very ordinary Hindu, who endured 600 years of jihadi invasions and 200 years of Christian invasions, without converting, without yielding for a pittance of money or at the edge of a sword… a Hindu who stood firm. From that Hindu perspective, if you read the book Why I Killed Gandhi, a certain feeling would arise,” Krishna Raj said. “That feeling is not unique to me; many people in this country share it. That is a fact everyone knows. And that is what I expressed in my Facebook post.”
He added that there are many who see Nathuram Godse as a hero. “Is there anything wrong with that?"
“Godse, the man who shot Mahatma Gandhi, didn't just run away, he didn't disappear. He went to the police station and surrendered. That is the kind of man he was,” Krishna Raj said.
He also said that Godse was hanged as he stood for 'Akhand Bharat'. He recounts that Andavan seemingly agreed that Godse "saved India", which he sees as a logical conclusion after understanding Godse's motivation.
Notably, in Why I Killed Gandhi, Godse questions Gandhi being referred as the ‘Father of the Nation’.
“Gandhi is being referred to as the Father of the Nation. But if that is so, he had failed his paternal duty in as much as he has acted very treacherously to the nation by his consenting to the partitioning of it. I stoutly maintain that Gandhi has failed in his duty. He has proved to be the Father of Pakistan,” Godse noted in the book.
Krishna Raj, too, questioned the title of “Father of the Nation” bestowed upon Gandhi, arguing that India does not officially have a "father", as the concept is not enshrined in the Constitution, and that Gandhi was merely a political figure. “People can have political differences with that political figure,” he said. “In that context, someone took an extreme, illegal step. Nobody justifies killing, but when you read a book like Why I Killed Gandhi, many develop admiration for Godse. There are hundreds, thousands, even lakhs of people in India who share that admiration.”
After the controversy erupted last year, Andavan deleted her comment, but she was still booked by the Kunnamangalam police. She later secured bail.
“How does supporting Nathuram Godse constitute a crime?,” asked Krishna Raj. “Under which provision of the Indian Penal Code—now the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita—does it fall?” He added that he viewed it as a matter of political morality, given that Gandhi was a politician.
THE WEEK attempted to contact Andavan but was unable to reach her.
