Indian Govt. to buy Gandhi's house in Johannesburg

New Delhi, Aug 12 (ANI): Union Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal has said that the government has decided to buy the house in Johannesburg, where Mahatma Gandhi had lived for over a year.

Gandhiji lived in this house between 1908 and 1909 while practising as an advocate and fighting racial discrimination in South Africa.

Jaiswal said Coal India intends to purchase the house and build a memorial on it.

The minister said he, along with officials of Coal India Limited, would be leaving for South Africa on August 16 in this connection.

Jaiswal will visit the house in Johannesburg and hold talks with the house-owner in a bid to purchase it.

Gandhi's house in a peaceful Johannesburg suburb attracted a large number of potential buyers from all over the world, including India.

When American artist Nancy Ball first advertised the sale of 'The Kraal', there was little response even from the Indian-origin community here, but since the word about Gandhi's legacy spread through the media, everything has changed.

Situated at No. 15 Pine Road in the peaceful and tranquil suburb of Orchards in Johannesburg, the thatched-roof rondavel-style house was designed by Gandhi's confidant and architect Hermann Kallenbach. (ANI)