The 1945 Agrani Ravana Cartoon: Godse’s Newspaper, Savarkar’s Funding and the Politics of Demonising Gandhi

A Dussehra cartoon attributed to the Marathi newspaper Agrani portrayed Mahatma Gandhi as a many-headed Ravana alongside other figures from India’s nationalist leadership. Two archers appear to take aim at the group. The cartoon matters not just because it insulted Gandhi: it illustrates how a publication associated with Nathuram Godse presented competing ideas of Indian nationalism as a battle against enemies within the country.

What the cartoon shows—and what remains uncertain

The illustration circulating online shows Gandhi in the central group of heads, with multiple other faces surrounding him. A bowman’s arrow bears the words “Akhand Bharat”. Later accounts identify the archers as Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Syama Prasad Mookerjee, and some identify the other heads as Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and other public figures. These precise identifications cannot all be established from the circulated low-resolution picture alone.

Reporting in October 2023 reproduced the image and attributed its publication to Agrani in 1945. An original dated issue, full printed caption and archival page have not been independently established here. The attribution has published support, but the picture should not be treated as a fully authenticated, complete newspaper page. Nor does the absence of Muhammad Ali Jinnah from the visible illustration prove a particular editorial position towards him.

What was Agrani?

Agrani was a Marathi newspaper launched in the 1940s by Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte, with Godse as editor and Apte in a managerial role. It was associated with Hindu nationalist political thinking and later continued under the name Hindu Rashtra. This editorial context matters to the cartoon: the image presents several Indian nationalist leaders, including Gandhi, as a single monstrous opponent, while its archers stand for an alternative political vision.

Savarkar’s connection to the newspaper is stronger evidence than an inference from the cartoon. In his own statement during the Gandhi murder case, Savarkar acknowledged agreeing to advance ₹15,000 to Godse and Apte, explaining that the advance was a loan backed by a promissory note and intended to be converted into shares. Other accounts and evidence from the assassination investigation also describe the financial relationship. It is accurate to say Savarkar financially supported the paper; calling the money a proven unconditional donation would miss his documented account of the transaction.

Why the Ravana comparison matters

Ravana is the villain defeated during the story commemorated at Dussehra. Turning Gandhi and numerous fellow Indian leaders into Ravana was more than normal disagreement with their political positions. It cast rival leaders as a collective evil to be destroyed. That is an ethically troubling way to depict fellow participants in public life, because it encourages readers to see political opponents as enemies rather than people whose views can be challenged. The imagery is an attack on political legitimacy; it is not, by itself, proof of a specific murder plan or an instruction to commit violence.

The choice of targets is particularly revealing. Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Bose and Azad did not hold identical political views. Treating such different leaders as the heads of one monster simplified substantial ideological differences into one enemy image. The arrow marked “Akhand Bharat” suggests the artist was opposing their political direction in the name of an indivisible India. The cartoon cannot on its own establish the motives of every individual whose likeness appears in it.

The later assassination: a vital distinction

Godse assassinated Gandhi in New Delhi on 30 January 1948. Godse and Apte were convicted and sentenced to death. Savarkar was tried for conspiracy and acquitted in 1949. A later inquiry, the Kapur Commission, considered additional material and drew a strongly adverse conclusion about Savarkar’s alleged role. But an inquiry’s finding is not a criminal conviction.

In its order of 28 March 2018, the Supreme Court expressly explained that the Kapur Commission’s observations could not overturn Savarkar’s acquittal, and declined to reopen the case. The historical record therefore supports both facts: a documented political and financial relationship between Savarkar and the newspaper, and the continuing legal fact of Savarkar’s acquittal. Neither should be erased to make the history simpler.

Nor can a causal claim that the cartoon or the newspaper directly produced Gandhi’s assassination be proved merely by noting the sequence of events. The paper’s editorial hostility is relevant historical context, not independent proof of who planned or authorised the killing.

Why the image still circulates

The cartoon returned to public debate in October 2023 when political leaders invoked it amid a controversy over the BJP’s portrayal of Rahul Gandhi as Ravana. That reuse shows the lasting symbolic power of comparing opponents to religious villains, although competing modern posts do not independently authenticate the 1945 original or make present-day organisations legally responsible for a historical publication.

The most defensible lesson of the Agrani cartoon is specific: a newspaper edited by the man who later killed Gandhi is linked to a striking example of treating Gandhi and other nationalist leaders as a common enemy, and Savarkar acknowledged financing that newspaper. The picture helps explain the intensity of the ideological conflict surrounding the freedom movement. It does not replace documentary proof about the original issue, individual identities, or responsibility for Gandhi’s assassination.