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http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,193323,00.html?
'Stop auction of Gandhi's personal items'
His great-grandson tries to raise money to buy back items as next month's New York sale sparks outrage in India
February 19, 2009
PICTURES: AP
Now, those glasses are up for sale, along with a number of other personal items that belonged to the man who led India's independence movement.
MENTION Mahatma Ghandi, and the first image that comes to mind is that of a bald, smiling man, looking gently through his trademark round glasses.
The auction, to be held on 5 Mar in New York, has sparked outrage and triggered a campaign for the items to be returned to India.
The items are owned by Mr Peter Ruhe, a German memorabilia collector and chairman of the GandhiServe Foundation in Berlin. He had obtained them from Gandhi's grandniece, Ghita.
Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi described it as a 'grave insult' for the independence leader's belongings to be sold off next month in New York.
He added that he was trying to raise money to bring them home.
The items being offered include Gandhi's sandals, pocket watch and some dishes.
Due to the importance of Gandhi in the nation's history and imagination, the quest to recover his possessions has become far more than a simple family matter.
National pride
PRICELESS?: A pair of glasses and a case as well as a pocket watch - a 1910 Zenith sterling silver timepiece - belonging to Gandhi are seen in these undated photos.
Veteran socialist Mrinal Gore has written to various politicians asking them to stop the auction, reported the Times of India.
He wrote: 'It is a question of national pride and we must do whatever we can to stop the auction.
'The government should take back these personal articles and keep them at the Gandhi Memorial in New Delhi.'
Indian parliamentarian Mohan Singh also weighed in, calling on the Indian government to 'buy these relics and bring them back here so that they can be put in a museum'.
Mr Ramachandra Rahi, secretary general of the Gandhi Memorial Foundation in New Delhi, said Gandhi's belongings 'should be available to future generations to see and draw inspiration from'.
Mr Tushar, who heads the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in Mumbai, said they had been given to the current owner for display in museums and that Gandhi's grandniece, Ghita, was 'morally not right' to provide a letter of authenticity for the sale.
'She should remember that her parents would never, ever have thought of making money out of selling these things. They worshipped these items,' he said.
Mr Tushar said he asked the auction house, Antiquorum Auctioneers, to postpone the sale until he had raised enough money to bid for the items, but it had refused to do so.
HUMBLE: Gandhi's humble sandals are to be auctioned off along with other items like dishes.
He has since been accepting donations, but is running out of time despite some of his compatriots - many of them desperately poor - chipping in.
Those offering donations include a poor rickshaw driver in Mumbai who had offered to sell his vehicle to raise money, reported the Telegraph.
The auction house has said the items are expected to sell for US$20,000 ($30,000) to US$30,000 in total, leaving Mr Tushar 'hoping for a miracle'.
'I know that this is the last chance of ever getting them back,' he said.
He added: 'I would absolutely hate it if they ended up enriching the life of some wealthy businessman in the US or the UK.'
According to Mr Tushar, the collector, Mr Ruhe, had travelled through Gujarat in the 1990s gathering Gandhi memorabilia.
'Collecting these items has been a systematic lucrative operation going on from Germany,' he said.
But Mr Nilay Band, an associate of Peter Ruhe and a member of GandhiServe, denied that Mr Ruhe had behaved in an underhanded manner.
He told the Telegraph: 'I have no doubt that Mr Ruhe... has acquired his large collection of Gandhi memorabilia legitimately. He's a good man.'
AFP
'Stop auction of Gandhi's personal items'
His great-grandson tries to raise money to buy back items as next month's New York sale sparks outrage in India
February 19, 2009
PICTURES: AP
Now, those glasses are up for sale, along with a number of other personal items that belonged to the man who led India's independence movement.
MENTION Mahatma Ghandi, and the first image that comes to mind is that of a bald, smiling man, looking gently through his trademark round glasses.
The auction, to be held on 5 Mar in New York, has sparked outrage and triggered a campaign for the items to be returned to India.
The items are owned by Mr Peter Ruhe, a German memorabilia collector and chairman of the GandhiServe Foundation in Berlin. He had obtained them from Gandhi's grandniece, Ghita.
Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi described it as a 'grave insult' for the independence leader's belongings to be sold off next month in New York.
He added that he was trying to raise money to bring them home.
The items being offered include Gandhi's sandals, pocket watch and some dishes.
Due to the importance of Gandhi in the nation's history and imagination, the quest to recover his possessions has become far more than a simple family matter.
National pride
PRICELESS?: A pair of glasses and a case as well as a pocket watch - a 1910 Zenith sterling silver timepiece - belonging to Gandhi are seen in these undated photos.
Veteran socialist Mrinal Gore has written to various politicians asking them to stop the auction, reported the Times of India.
He wrote: 'It is a question of national pride and we must do whatever we can to stop the auction.
'The government should take back these personal articles and keep them at the Gandhi Memorial in New Delhi.'
Indian parliamentarian Mohan Singh also weighed in, calling on the Indian government to 'buy these relics and bring them back here so that they can be put in a museum'.
Mr Ramachandra Rahi, secretary general of the Gandhi Memorial Foundation in New Delhi, said Gandhi's belongings 'should be available to future generations to see and draw inspiration from'.
Mr Tushar, who heads the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in Mumbai, said they had been given to the current owner for display in museums and that Gandhi's grandniece, Ghita, was 'morally not right' to provide a letter of authenticity for the sale.
'She should remember that her parents would never, ever have thought of making money out of selling these things. They worshipped these items,' he said.
Mr Tushar said he asked the auction house, Antiquorum Auctioneers, to postpone the sale until he had raised enough money to bid for the items, but it had refused to do so.
HUMBLE: Gandhi's humble sandals are to be auctioned off along with other items like dishes.
He has since been accepting donations, but is running out of time despite some of his compatriots - many of them desperately poor - chipping in.
Those offering donations include a poor rickshaw driver in Mumbai who had offered to sell his vehicle to raise money, reported the Telegraph.
The auction house has said the items are expected to sell for US$20,000 ($30,000) to US$30,000 in total, leaving Mr Tushar 'hoping for a miracle'.
'I know that this is the last chance of ever getting them back,' he said.
He added: 'I would absolutely hate it if they ended up enriching the life of some wealthy businessman in the US or the UK.'
According to Mr Tushar, the collector, Mr Ruhe, had travelled through Gujarat in the 1990s gathering Gandhi memorabilia.
'Collecting these items has been a systematic lucrative operation going on from Germany,' he said.
But Mr Nilay Band, an associate of Peter Ruhe and a member of GandhiServe, denied that Mr Ruhe had behaved in an underhanded manner.
He told the Telegraph: 'I have no doubt that Mr Ruhe... has acquired his large collection of Gandhi memorabilia legitimately. He's a good man.'
AFP
