JOIN USMahatma Gandhi's belongings, artefacts auctioned over the years
As the country marks 151 years of Mahatma Gandhi today, let's take a look at his belongings and artefacts that have been auctioned over the years
1. Mahatma Gandhi's charkha | Sold for 1,10,000 pounds
Mahatma Gandhi's 'charkha' which he used in Yerwada Jail during the 'Quit India Movement' was sold at an auction in the UK for a whopping 110,000 pounds, nearly double the expected price.
The charkha (spinning wheel), with a minimum bid of 60,000 pounds, was used by Gandhi while he was in the prison in Pune and was later gifted to American Free Methodist missionary Revd Floyd A Puffer.
Gandhi spent several years in Yerwada Jail during India's freedom struggle notably in 1932 and later in 1942 during the Quit India movement along with many other freedom fighters.
2. Spectacles believed to be worn by Gandhi | Sold for 260,000 pounds
A pair of gold-plated spectacles believed to have been worn by Mahatma Gandhi and presented as a gift in the 1900s to a family from England have broken all records for a UK auction house after a US-based collector acquired them with a whopping bid of 260,000 pounds.
The glasses, which were dropped through the letterbox of East Bristol Auctions in Hanham, south-west England, were estimated to fetch between 10,000 pounds and 15,000 pounds but the online bids for the lot kept multiplying to finally go under the hammer of the six-figure sum.
The auction house said that the lot had attracted interest from all over the world, including bids from India, Qatar, American, Russia, Canada.
3. Pinch of soil Gandhi died on | Sold for 10,000 pounds
In 2012, Mullock’s auctions sold a pinch of soil and blood-stained blades of grass from the place where he was assassinated in 1948, among many other artefacts belonging to Mahatma, for 10,000 pounds.
4. Mahatma Gandhi's will, blood sample and chappals | Sold for 300,000 pounds
Mahatma Gandhi's last will and testament, which was auctioned in 2013, was described as a "highly important document". The two-page handwritten will on folio paper. It was complete with a fragment of Mahatma Gandhi's blood on a microscopic slide. The iconic leader's will and testament along with his prayer beads and leather chappals went under the hammer fetching a whopping 300,000 pounds.
The hand-woven linen shawl, made from material hand-spun by Gandhi himself, was sold for 40,000 pounds - nearly double the estimated price.
"While the blood sample may be sacred for some, the will is an extremely important historical document. It is hand-written in Gujarati and signed by Gandhi," Richard Westwood-Brookes, historical documents expert for Mullock's auctioneers, told PTI from the auction site at Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire.
The slide of Mahatma Gandhi's blood dates back to 1924 when the leader of India's freedom movement was in convalescence from an appendectomy near Mumbai. He is believed to have donated the blood to the family he was staying with at the time.
5. Glasses and pocket watch | Sold for $1.8 million
Mahatma Gandhi's glasses, sandals, plate and bowl, and pocket watch are seen before an auction of his memorabilia March 5, 2009, in New York City. Gandhi's iconic round glasses, watch and other items sold for $1.8 million to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, in spite of an order to cancel the sale by owner James Otis.
Just before the auction, owner of the items James Otis had agreed to withdraw them from the auction but the auction house did not agree. Several community leaders had expressed relief that the promise of keeping Gandhi's iconic items, including his glasses, sandals, pocket watch, plate and a bowl, in India has been fulfilled.
Here are some of his other belongings that are up for auction:
1. Gandhi's letter thanking British Lord for birthday wishes
A signed letter, penned by Mahatma Gandhi a year before India's Independence, thanking a British Lord for wishes on his birthday is expected to fetch over $20,000 at an online auction.
Signed 'M K Gandhi', the one-page letter to Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Secretary of State for India and Burma, was written from New Delhi on October 10, 1946.
"Dear friend, it was good of you to send me your wishes for my birthday which is synonymous with the rebirth of the spinning wheel in 1918," the letter reads.
It is to be noted that shortly after World War I, Gandhi developed a broad base of support from Indians for peaceful non-cooperation. After December 1921, Gandhi expanded his non-violence programme to include the swadeshi policy -- the boycott of British goods.
2. Gandhi's autographed letters to his son
The Mullock auctioneers also put out Gandhi's three autograph letters signed to his son Harilal dated June 6th, June 19th and June 27th, 1935, discussing his situation, his relationships, and his behaviour – saying he has been accused of lying in his behaviour with two named women, adding: " ...please let me have pure truth please tell me if still, you are interested in alcohol and debauchery...I wish that you better die rather than resort to alcohol in any manner."
The letters have not been sold yet and are priced between 50,000 - 60,000 pounds.
3. Photograph showing Gandhi and Nehru under arrest
An unsold photograph showing Gandhi and Nehru under arrest by the British. This is a 1942 Press still with a caption to verso. It is priced between 200 - 300 pounds by the Mullock auctioneers.
(With inputs from PTI)
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