LONDON (NNN-Bernama) -- A rich archive containing thousands of items related to Mahatma Gandhi will soon return to India after the Indian Union Ministry of Culture signed a contract with auctioneers Sotheby's to purchase it before it is put up for auction on July 10.
The price paid by the ministry has not been revealed but it is likely to be between Rs 4 crore to Rs 6 crore, as Sotheby's had expected the archive to fetch between 500,000 and 700,000 pounds.(One Crore: ten million)
Sources in the Indian government told Press Trust of India the auction in London would no longer go ahead.
Sotheby's in confirming this said: "The archive, which had been scheduled to be offered in Sotheby's English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations Auction on July 10, has been withdrawn from sale."
The archive includes several letters that throw fresh light on the controversial relationship between Gandhi and architect Hermann Kallenbach, one of the foremost associates and friends of Gandhi during his time in South Africa.
The archive, which is likely to be a rich resource for researchers and historians, was recently examined by a team of experts from the ministry who described it as "very well preserved and of inestimable value".
The archive is expected to be kept at the National Archives in New Delhi. --NNN-BERNAMA
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