The Union culture ministry has decided to step in to prevent the sale, auction or any other form of commercial transaction of items that once belonged to the Father of the Nation.
Concerned about the embarrassment the government of India has had to face over the auction of Mahatma Gandhi’s memorabilia, the Union culture ministry has decided to step in to prevent the sale, auction or any other form of commercial transaction of items that once belonged to the Father of the Nation.
Minister of state for culture V Narayanasamy told DNA on Sunday, “An amendment to the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, will be made soon to check the sale of Gandhi memorabilia. Owners of any kind of Gandhi memorabilia will have to register the items and will be barred from selling or auctioning them. The culture ministry is also writing to nations with which we have bilateral agreements on cultural issues, asking them to prevent such auctions.”
The move comes after prime minister Manmohan Singh wrote to the culture ministry, asking officials to find ways to protect Gandhi’s belongings from commercial exploitation.
Despite the prime minister’s nudge, the ministry is yet to wake up to the challenge from German art dealer and self-proclaimed Gandhian Peter Ruhe, who is touring the country in search of Gandhi memorablia that can be auctioned abroad. He left Ahmedabad’s Gandhi Vidyapeeth on Sunday.
Narayanasamy said, “I don’t have knowledge about this man but now that I have been informed we will keep track of his movements. I assure you that I will take this matter up with the prime minister immediately. The government will not allow any kind of financial transactions involving Gandhi memorabilia.”
Ruhe claims to own the world’s largest collection of Bapu’s original photographs, apart from several other items that once belonged to the Mahatma. James Otis of Antiquorum Auctioneers, US, had reportedly bought the Mahatma’s spectacles and watch (which liquor baron Vijay Mallya procured for the Indian government at a staggering Rs8 crore) from Ruhe.
One of the reasons for the prime minister to keep the culture portfolio is said to be the recurring controversy over the sale and auction of Gandhian memorabilia. A Congress leader said the government is embarrassed about it and would like to put a stop to it.
However, Jitender Desai, managing trustee of the Navjivan Trust, which owned the copyright to all 194 books and compilations written by the Mahatma, feels the government is not doing enough to preserve Gandhian memorabilia.
“I had written to the officials concerned almost a year back, asking them to take steps to prevent the sale of these items as they are part of our heritage but am yet to hear from them,” Desai said.
Desai, who has known Ruhe for several years, says, “He is a shrewd man who seems to be aiming at making profits from selling Gandhiji’s original pictures. He is no Gandhian.”
Desai feels that the fact that almost all Bapu’s pictures are now beyond the copyright act is fuelling the sale of these pictures. “In case of photographs, the copyright belongs to the person who clicked the pictures. When owners like Kanu Gandhi have decided to give away the pictures to Ruhe (Desai says Kanu was sweet talked by Ruhe into giving him the pictures), how does one check the sale?” Desai asked.
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