India buys Mahatma Gandhi letters set to be auctioned in UK

London: The Indian Government has bought thousands of documents relating to Mahatma Gandhi that were set to go on sale in an auction in the UK. The archive belonged to Hermann Kallenbach, the Jewish architect and bodybuilder, who became Gandhi`s close friend when he lived in South Africa. The Indian government struck a deal with Kallenbach’s family to buy the documents for an unknown figure, the BBC reports. Most of the letters were written by family, friends and others with very few written by Gandhi himself. They include several letters that could give a better understanding of the controversial relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and Hermann Kallenbach. According to the report, the collection was expected to fetch between 500,000-700,000 pounds at the sale in UK`s Sotheby`s auction house. ANI