Gandhi 's vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism was challenged in the early 1940s by a new Muslim nationalism which was demanding a separate Muslim homeland carved out of India . In August 1947 , Britain granted independence , but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions , a Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan . As many displaced Hindus , Muslims , and Sikhs made their way to their new lands , religious violence broke out , especially in the Punjab and Bengal . Eschewing the official celebration of independence in Delhi , Gandhi visited the affected areas , attempting to provide solace . In the months following , he undertook several fasts unto death to stop religious violence . The last of these , undertaken on 12 January 1948 when he was 78 , also had the indirect goal of pressuring India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan . Some Indians thought Gandhi was too accommodating . Among them was Nathuram Godse , a Hindu nationalist , who assassinated Gandhi on 30 January 1948 by firing three bullets into his chest
assassinated Gandhi
Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi