India launches Gandhi sale move

Gandhi's simple lifestyle inspired a generation of Indians

India has taken steps to prevent Mahatma Gandhi's personal possessions being auctioned next month in New York, reports from India say.

A culture ministry official is reported by India's leading news agency to have asked the owners of the belongings to offer them to the government first.

The owners include the daughter of one of Gandhi's nieces.

She authorised a German collector to sell the items through the Antiquorum auction house in the US.

'Due acknowledgment'

"Whatever can be done is being done to ensure that articles are not auctioned... involving all concerned stakeholders," Culture Minister Ambika Soni told the Press Trust of India news agency.

MPs say all efforts should be made to retrieve the articles

The ministry is reported to have approached the various owners of Gandhi's belongings to ask them to withdraw the items from the auction so the government can buy them.

Another reported option is for the government to ask US Indians to buy the items and donate them to India so that they can be placed in a national museum.

A special government committee is working on how to reclaim the pieces, which have an estimated value of between $20,000 and $30,000.

Gandhi's spectacles, which he once said gave him "the vision to free India", a pair of his sandals and his pocket watch are among the items for sale.

MPs across Indian parties have said that all efforts should be made to retrieve the possessions.

Antiquorum Auctioneers in New York are due to stage the sale on 4-5 March.

Correspondents say Gandhi holds a unique status in India as the leader of the independence movement against British rule and the planned sale of his personal effects has created some concern.

Modest lifestyle

Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, who has launched a public appeal for funds to buy the items, told the AFP news agency that he was cheered to hear about the Indian government's action.

"I'm overjoyed the government has finally woken up to its responsibility," he said.

"My objective was that these things which rightfully belong to India come back to India."

The auctioneers say there has been worldwide interest in the sale, particularly as Gandhi's ascetic philosophy meant he had very few personal possessions.

In 2007, India managed to obtain another piece of Gandhi memorabilia - a manuscript of an article he wrote - after persuading the auctioneers to withdraw the document from sale.

Gandhi's modest lifestyle - epitomised by his simple white robe and few possessions - helped to inspire a generation of Indians to peaceful resistance against British rule in the 1930s.

He was assassinated in 1948, aged 78, by a Hindu radical.