NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will bid for freedom hero Mahatma Gandhi's personal belongings which are to be auctioned in New York on Thursday, the country's cultural affairs minister said.
The iconic leader's trademark wire-rimmed glasses, a pair of worn leather sandals, a pocket watch and a metal bowl and plate are up for sale in New York.
The auction plan has caused an uproar in India where many view the items as part of their national heritage and want them to be kept in a museum.
Some Indians also say the sale goes against the philosophy of a man who shunned material possessions and led an ascetic life.
"The prime minister of India has given us a clear directive to prevent it from going under the hammer or whatever it needs to be done should be done," Ambika Soni, India's cultural affairs minister, told reporters.
"We would like to get them back through talks with the owner, and if the talks fail, we will buy them back ... We should get it back for Gandhi's motherland."
The auction, the largest collection of Gandhi's possessions on sale at a time, is expected to fetch some $300,000 (212,655 pounds).
The Zenith pocket watch was given to Mahatma Gandhi by Indira Gandhi, who is not related to him and who went on to become India's prime minister. Mahatma Gandhi used the plate and bowl for his last meal.
Soni said the government was holding talks with the owner of the items, California-based collector James Otis, who has agreed to withdraw the items if India promises to spend more on healthcare and poverty.
India has rejected his demands, saying they are unreasonable.
The Indian government was also holding talks with Antiquorum Auctioneers to take the items off the auction, government officials said.
Some non-resident Indians have also offered to buy back the items
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi, pioneered the philosophy of non-violent resistance to British rule in India. He was assassinated on January 30, 1948 in New Delhi by a Hindu radical.
(Reporting by Bappa Majumdar and Rituparna Bhowmik; Editing by Sugita Katyal)
