Supporters surround the body of Gandhi before his cremation, India

Supporters surround the body of Gandhi before his cremation. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 - 1948), in 1948. Accompanying the body to the cremation are Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Kripilani and Sadar Patel. Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. At 5:17 pm on 30 January 1948, Gandhi was with his grandnieces in the garden of the former Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), on his way to address a prayer meeting, when Nathuram Godse fired three bullets from a Beretta 9 mm pistol into his chest at point-blank range.