India seeks to stall auction of Gandhi letter

New Delhi, Jun 27 (UNI) India is seeking to stall the auction of a rare letter of Mahatma Gandhi that will come under hammer at Christie's on July three.

''With barely days left for the auction of the letter Mahatma Gandhi wrote 19 days before his assassination in January 1948, the Culture Ministry has dashed off a missive to the External Affairs Ministry, seeking its intervention to prevent a priceless legacy slipping into private hands,'' a ministry official said.

According to media reports from London, the letter is likely to be auctioned at around 12,000 pounds.

In the letter published in his newspaper, Harijan, on January 11, 1948. Mahatma Gandhi had espoused tolerance towards Muslims. He was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on January 30 of that year.

The scheduled bidding has triggered a wave of revulsion and protest from the people in the country in general and Gandhians in particular.

Two staunch Gandhians -- B K Birla and Satya Paul -- have already sent letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging him to intervene and prevent the letter from being auctioned.

They also appealed to the Prime Minister to initiate efforts to bring the letter back to India.

UNI