The Hindu : National : As deadline draws near, hope on acquiring Gandhiji’s memorabilia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 05, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

As deadline draws near, hope on acquiring Gandhiji’s memorabilia

New Delhi: The government on Wednesday expressed confidence that it would be able to acquire at the “least cost” and using an “honourable option” the precious articles of Mahatma Gandhi which are up for auction in the U.S. on Thursday.

India has established contact with the U.S.-based owner of Gandhiji’s memorabilia, James Otis, as well as Antiquorum Auctioneers as part of efforts to acquire the five items, either after stopping the bidding process or by participating in it through some NRIs.

Mr. Otis has expressed his readiness to negotiate and donate the items to India if it offers “something very generous” to its poorest people.

“We will do whatever it takes to bring back these items to India at the least cost and using an honourable option,” a senior official of the Culture Ministry told PTI.

Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said the Indian embassy in Washington and the Consulate-General in New York were asked to do everything that was required “through the bidding process or otherwise to acquire the Father of the Nation’s personal assets for the country.”

The External Affairs Ministry said interactions were on in the past several days between the Indian Consulate-General and the Antiquorum Auctioneers. Mr. Otis was contacted by the Consulate-General.

Five personal belongings of Mahatma Gandhi — iconic metal rimmed glasses, a pocket watch, sandals and utensils — are scheduled to be auctioned in New York.

The government said these items had been spirited away and should be restored to the Navjivan Trust, which is the trustee and custodian of all properties of Mahatma Gandhi.

In this regard, the government cites Gandhiji’s will, which states: “I do not believe that I have any property. Nevertheless, anything which by social convention or in law is considered mine — movable or immovable — I endow as my heirs the Navjivan Institution whom I declare as my heirs.” Even if Mahatma Gandhi had gifted an item to a specific person or institution during his lifetime, other than the Navjivan Trust, as a token of love, it was incumbent on such person or institution to retain and cherish the item and not to seek commercial advantage out of it, the government said.

Indian American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal has said he, along with some of his friends of Indian-origin, would bid for the prized items to take their possession and return them home.

“I would like to go even to a quarter of a million dollars, This is not big money, especially when you want to buy it with among 8-10 friends and give it back to your country — India,” Mr. Chatwal said. “Any Indian should buy it and the purpose is to buy and send it back home. The auction is online, on telephone and we of course will be physically present,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Tushar Gandhi said in Mumbai that India should ensure that the items were brought back to where they belong. “Stopping the auction is one thing but ensuring that what belongs to India comes back to India is a totally different ball game,” Mr. Gandhi said. — PTI

Corrections and Clarifications

Mr. Tushar Gandhi is the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and not his grandson as mentioned in the last paragraph of a PTI report "As deadline draws near, hope on acquiring Gandhiji's memorabilia" (March 5, 2009).

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National