Gandhi, Nehru letters in Sotheby's auction

London, Jun 21 (PTI) A series of signed and autographed
letters by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru and some
documents and postcards will figure in a Christie's sale here
on July 14.

Three of Gandhi's autographed letters to Islamic scholar
and leading figure in the Khilafat movement, Maulana Abdul
Bari, in Urdu have an estimated price of 2,500-3,000 pounds
(Rs 1.99-2.38 lakh).

They refer to Hindu-Muslim relations, including communal
tension in Lucknow and their personal friendship. Writing one
letter from prison, Gandhi thanks Bari for gifting cotton for
spinning.

A khadi cloth signed by Gandhi and said to have been
woven by him will go under the hammer at an estimated price of
2,000-2,500 pounds (Rs 1.59-1.99 lakh).

The cloth was a gift from Gandhi to South African-born
actress Moira Lister, who was a friend of Maharani of Jaipur
Gayatri Devi.

Two autograph postcards (1,500-2,000 pounds or Rs
1.19-1.59 lakh) signed by Gandhi to Urdu poet Hamid Ullah
Afsar also figure in the auction of 153 lots under the
category of English Literature, History, Children's Books and
Illustrations.

A series of 29 letters signed and four autograph letters
and notes signed by Nehru to friend Mridula Sarabhai, together
with a signed document, a signed greeting card and 29
envelopes will have an estimated price of 4,000-5,000 pounds
(Rs 3.17-3.97 lakh).

Nehru's letters discuss subjects including events in
Kashmir, Sarabhai's political campaigns, rehabilitation of
Muslims evicted from their homes at Partition and a
humanitarian project for homeless children in Delhi.

"I must act according to my own judgment. I know perhaps
better than you do of the consequences of what is happening
and what is likely to happen consequences not only in Kashmir
but the whole of India and Pakistan," says one of the letter
written on August 3, 1953, just before the dismissal of Sheikh
Abdullah as Kashmiri prime minister. PTI ZMN BDS