The sale of memorabilia related to Mahatma Gandhi had generated a lot of controversy in the past few years, with opposition from several quarters to the auction. Meanwhile, British Auction House Mullock’s is optimistic about its sale scheduled for November 5. Some of memorabilia related to the Father of the Nation will go under the hammer including his most prized possessions, the ‘charkha’ he used in Yerwada Jail in 1940s. The charkha (spinning wheel), which was given to the American Free Methodist missionary Revd Floyd A Puffer will be offered with the minimum bid set at £60,000 ($97,000).
“This material that we are selling now, none of it has come from India. Gandhi gave it to an American priest and he kept it with him for several years,” said Richard Westwood-Brookes, an expert at the Mullock’s auction house in Ludlow near Birmingham.
Over 60 Gandhi-related artifacts will be auctioned including important documents, photographs and books, as well as an early publication advising German Jews to take up ‘Satyagraha’ during the holocaust. The sale will also include a number of historic items related to the Sikh and Mysore Kingdom.
“We have a wide selection of Gandhi and India-related artifacts for sale. They have been carefully selected based on rarity, quality and historical importance. I don’t think we will ever witness a sale of this magnitude ever again,” Westwood-Brookes stated.
