Rare memorabilia belonging to Mahatma Gandhi will be on auction in the UK on Tuesday. The items to auctioned include blood stained grass picked up from Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination site, his famous round steel-rimmed glasses and a few signed letters and a prayer book. The items are expected to fetch between £10,000 to 15,000.
However, several Gandhians including anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare are upset over the the auction of the soil and blades of grass with his blood stains. “This auction of Gandhiji’s artefacts is regrettable, no Indian would like this,” said Hazare.
Writer and Padma Shri awardee Giriraj Kishore has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil to stop auction of Gandhiji’s belongings in the UK.
Kishore said that he had spoken to Anna Hazare over the phone and asked for the latter’s support to stop the auction. Hazare expressed support for the cause and said he would work for it, the Padma Shri awardee said.
In his letter written earlier to President Pratibha Patil, Kishore had threatened to return his Padma Shri if steps were not initiated immediately to stop the auction.
The noted Hindi writer was awarded Padma Shri in 2007 for his notable work in the field of literature and education. He had chronicled Gandhiji’s struggles in South Africa in his book ‘Pahla Girmitiya (The First Indentured Labour)’.
–PTI