Times of India (May 4, 2012)
MUMBAI: A prominent businessman from the city today announced that he
has acquired 29 items of Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia at a recent auction
in the UK. "I am delighted to acquire the items, which are of national
interest. I would happier had the government acquired them," Kamal
Morarka, former Union minister and publisher, said. Morarka plans to
bring the memorabilia, which he acquired through a leading auction
house, to India soon. "I am not aware if the Customs Duty will be
charged on these items," he told.
Asked how much he paid to acquire these items, Morarka said the amount
exceeded a lakh pounds. "It would not have been a big expenditure on
part of the government to spend Rs 80 to 90 lakh to acquire these items
at the auction," he said. The memorabilia includes blades of grass and
soil pigmented with blood of Mahatma Gandhi and retrieved from Birla
House in Delhi, where he was assassinated in 1948. The purchase was
done through the Kamal Morarka Foundation for the Arts. The sale was
done by Mullock's, a Shropshire-based auctioneer. The items include one
of Gandhi's early pairs of iconic spectacles, the famous wooden
'charkha' (spinning wheel) he used, a prayer book signed by Gandhi and
also several letters and other documents pertaining to Gandhi's life.
Asked where he intended to display the items, Morarka said, "I would be
happy if the government displays them in a national museum in Delhi.
The purchase is not a commercial decision but an emotional one," he
said. "We don't intend to re-sell such objects but to bring them back
to India, so as to share with our people, these important heritage
artifacts that have eluded us for long by being kept in private hands
outside of India," Morarka said
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