Narayan Apte

Who was Narayan Apte?

Narayan Dattatraya Apte was a Hindu activist and entrepreneur who was executed for his role in the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

In 1932, Apte graduated from Bombay University as a Bachelor of Science. After obtaining his B.Sc., Degree, Apte accepted a teacher's job at Ahmednagar. During his stay at Ahmednagar, he was married to Mr Phadtare's daughter named Champa. He appeared for his B.T. examination and got his degree. In 1939, Apte joined the Hindu Mahasabha. While Gandhi was staying at Panchagani, a group of some twenty-five young men led by Apte staged a protest against Gandhi's policies on 22 July 1944. Apte planned and executed another such demonstration before Gandhi while he stayed in the sweepers' colony in Delhi. Apte considered himself an expert prognisticator when it came to reading the stars and predicting the future. His predictions that killing Gandhi would somehow magically reunify India with Pakistan and that he would live to be both old and revered throughout India proved to be inaccurate.

He worked with Nathuram Godse for almost six years under the Hindu Mahasabha. On 28 March 1944 the publication of Marathi daily Agrani started at Pune. Godse was its editor and Apte its manager. It bore a picture of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on its front page. Apte was present on the spot at Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, with Godse.