The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) will bid for the manuscript of a priceless letter Mahatma Gandhi had written days before his assassination that is slated to go under the auctioneer's hammer in London on July 3.
"We will bid for it. We have told the ICCR to bid for Gandhiji's letter," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in Jalpaiguri.
He expressed the hope that the government would be able to get the manuscript.
Noted auctioneers Christie's has announced that the Mahatma's January 11 letter written in his journal "Harijan" in its edition of January 11, 1948, would be among the various such handwritten letters of historical personalities that will be up for sale in the auction. Christie's had indicated a reserve price of 9,000 to 12,000 pounds for Gandhiji's letter.