Proposed auction of Gandhi's letter ruffles govt

A letter written by Mahatma Gandhi just before his assassination in 1948 is up for auction in London, creating ruffles in the government, which has initiated efforts to acquire it.

With information reaching here about the letter being auctioned on July 3, the Prime Minister's Office has swung into action and asked the Ministry of Culture to take steps to acquire it.

The Ministry of Culture has written to the External Affairs ministry for help in the matter.

The rare letter was written by Gandhi, 19 days before his assassination, for the 'Harijan' on January 11, 1948.

In the letter, the Mahatma had pleaded for tolerance towards Muslims.