AHMEDABAD: Gujarat has turned into a political battleground after the staging of the play 'I Am Nathuram Godse' triggered statewide protests led by the Congress and NSUI, forcing cancellations in Rajkot, Jamnagar and now Ahmedabad, and sharpening an ideological clash over Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy in his home state.
Congress workers, raised slogans of “Godse Murdabad,” plastered walls with messages like “Gandhiji Amar Raho,” and staged demonstrations even before the curtains could go up.
In Ahmedabad, sustained protests outside the AMC-run Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Hall in Bodakdev ultimately forced organisers to cancel the show, echoing earlier disruptions in Rajkot and Jamnagar.
The cancellation came despite strong commercial traction.
Sources associated with the play said nearly 75 percent of the tickets had already been sold online.
Party spokesperson Parthivrajsinh Kathwadia framed the protests as a defence of Gandhi’s moral and political legacy in a state that claims him as its conscience.
“We will not allow Nathuram Godse to be turned into a hero in Gandhi’s Gujarat. The hero of this country is Mahatma Gandhi, not his killer,” Kathwadia said.
"How can attempts be made to glorify the very man who assassinated him?” The Congress alleges that such theatrical portrayals are part of a broader attempt to recast public memory and dilute Gandhi’s ideological influence.
According to him, the play is not an isolated cultural event but a deliberate narrative intervention with political intent. Kathwadia asked. “Why was permission granted to glorify the murderer of Mahatma Gandhi in the state that gave Gandhi to the nation?”