The Government is once again preparing,albeit reluctantly,to buy a few other personal belongings of Gandhi,which are set to be auctioned in New York in the first week of March. In 2007,it had paid £18,000 to an auction house in London to obtain a letter written by Mahatma Gandhi days before his assassination in 1948. The government had made it clear after the incident that it was not in favour of purchasing national memorabilia in auctions as such a move would only encourage more people in possession of such articles to sell them for profit rather than donating them to relevant institutions in India. The established government policy in this regard is to encourage and persuade people to donate such material in their possession to the government in the interest of preserving the countrys heritage and history. An expert committee constituted by the government in 2007 had also suggested against the government buying memorabilia on auction,arguing that a large number of people,who had donated such articles in the past to institutions like the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library,would feel cheated and prospective donors would be discouraged. The articles currently on auction are a pair of Gandhis trademark circular metal-rimmed glasses,his sandals,a pocket watch and some utensils in which he is supposed to have eaten one of his last meals. Gandhi had given the spectacles to a British army colonel while the pocket watch was gifted to his grandniece Abha Gandhi. The items will be auctioned at the Antiquorum Auctioneers on March 4 and 5 in New York. Ever since the auction was reported in a section of the media,the government has been trying to find a way to reach a negotiated settlement like the one in 2007 when it had persuaded Christies not to auction the Gandhi letter by offering to pay £18,000. The matter has been discussed at length by the Home Ministry,Ministry of External Affairs and the Culture Ministry. The expert committee has also met twice and reported to have advised against buying the items on auction. Sources said that considering the nature of the articles on auction,the government is said to have firmed up plans to buy at least some of the more sensitive belongings like the glasses and the pocket watch. It is also trying to look for some philanthropist who can be persuaded to buy the rest of the articles and entrust them to the Indian government for safekeeping. According to the auctioneers,some of the articles on auction are expected to generate bids of around £20,000 to £30,000.
