India will make a bid to acquire a letter of Mahatma Gandhi where he pleaded for tolerance towards Muslims and promotion of Urdu language, which is up for auction in London on July three.

Briefing reporters here Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Navtej Sarna said the Indian High Commission in London has already briefed the Ministry of Culture about the situation.

The letter, being auctioned by Christie’s, is expected to fetch around 12,000 pounds (nearly Rs 10 lakhs). It is part of a collection titled “Albin Schram Collection of Autograph letters,” a collection by Albin Scram in Switzerland.
It had also informed the Ministry about how to go about acquiring Mahatma’s letter, which was written on January 11, 1948, only 19 days before his assassination.

“The High Commission is advising the Culture Ministry what the position is. The Culture Ministry will take a decision in line with what the PMO has said,” Mr Sarna said.

“The High Commission in London was contacted. They are facilitating the modalities that may be involved,” he added.

The Culture Ministry, in its turn, has asked the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, an autonomous body under the ministry that has a bulk of Gandhi’s writings, to bid for it.

Rare one
“We have received a communication from the culture ministry to bid for this rare letter of Gandhiji,” a Nehru Memorial Museum official said.

The letter written for the “Harijan” advocated the importance of Urdu and said any boycott on Urdu script would be a wanton affront on the Muslims of the Union.