Great-Grandson Raising Money to Buy Gandhi's Personal Belongings at New York Auction

[babylonsister]

Great-Grandson Raising Money to Buy Gandhi's Personal Belongings at New York Auction

by Muneeza Naqvi


NEW DELHI - The great-grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi said Monday that he has launched a fundraising campaign to buy a rare collection of the Indian independence leader's personal items that are up for auction and bring them back to India.


Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi, smiles in this 1947 file photo, location unknown. The great-grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi said Monday Feb. 22, 2009, that he has launched a fundraising campaign to buy a rare collection of the Indian independence leader's personal items that are up for auction and bring them back to India. (AP Photo/File) (AP / June 23, 1996)

The collection, including Gandhi's distinctive round wire-rim eyeglasses, is being auctioned next month in New York.

Tushar Gandhi said selling the belongings of his great-grandfather - who espoused a life of poverty and had very few possessions - was "immoral" because "they belong to India and the people of India."

He said he was trying to raise at least $300,000 to be able to have a serious chance of buying the items. Tushar Gandhi said he could have requested help from the Indian government but instead wanted to create a "people's initiative" to bring the collection back to India.

"At the moment we don't even have a third of that amount, but I'm very hopeful of raising the money," he said.

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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/02/23-4

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. What a great thing to do nt