Why does this seem so important even today ?
Gandhi Ji's Auto Biography (My Experiments with Truth). The Biography is in four parts, although the quality of the print is a little bad as the footnotes and the text have been mixed up, but one can read it with only a little effort.
http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/Biography/gandhi/
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The late Mr. Chamberlain, who was then Secretary of State for the Colonies,0 cabled asking the Natal Government to prosecute my assailants. Mr. Escombe sent for me, expressed his regret for the injuries I had sustained, and said : "Believe me, I cannot feel happy over the least little injury done to your person. You had a right to accept Mr. Laughton"s advice and to face the worst, but I am sure that, if you had considered my suggestion favourably, these sad occ urrences would not have happened. If you can identify the assailants, I am prepared to arrest and prosecute them. Mr. Chamberlain also desires me to do so." To which I gave the following reply :
"I do not want to prosecute anyone. It is possible that I may be able to identify one or two of them, but what is the use of 1 getting them punished? Besides, I do not hold the assailants to blame. They were given to understand that I had made exaggerated statements in India about the whites in Natal and calumniated them. If they believed these reports, it is no wonder that they were enraged. The leaders, and, if you will permit me to say so, you are to blame. You could have guided the people properly, but you also believed Reuter and assumed that I must have indulged in exaggeration. I do not want to bring anyone to book. I am sure that, when the truth becomes known, they will be sorry for their conduct."
Nathuram Godse's Self Defence, Excerpted from the banned book, May It Please Your Honour. The link has some impressions of the judges who judged Nathuram. To read Nathurams defence and his answer to the charge sheet entered against him, scroll down for a bit.
http://www.indpride.com/nathuramgodse.html
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"Briefly speaking, I thought to myself and foresaw that I shall be totally ruined and the only thing that I could expect from the people would be nothing but hatred and that I shall have lost all my honor even more valuable than my life, if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I felt that the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely be practical, and able to retaliate and would be powerful with armed forces. No doubt my own future would be totally ruined but the nation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan. People may even call and dub me as devoid of any sense or foolish, but the nation would be free to follow the course founded on reason which I consider to be necessary for sound nation building. After having fully considered the question, I took the final decision in the matter but I did not speak about it to any one whatsoever. I took courage in my both hands and I did fire the shots at Gandhiji on 30th January 1948 on the prayer grounds in Birla House."
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