Mallya pays $1.8 million for Gandhi's possessions

The chief of the Force India Formula One team and boss of a conglomerate that includes Kingfisher beer and Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya, has paid $1.8 million for a handful of Mahatma Gandhi's possessions. Mallya will donate Gandhi's iconic round-rimmed spectacles, leather sandals, silver pocket watch and the brass bowl and plate from which he is believed to have eaten his last meal to the Indian state to put in a museum.

Tony Bedi, Mallya's representative at the auction in New York said: “He is bidding for the country. I am sure all Indians will be pleased that these Gandhi items will be coming home. It’s worth a lot more if you look at the heritage of Mahatma Gandhi.”

Robert Maron, the chairman of the auction house stated: “We are happy to confirm that the Gandhi memorabilia is returning to India. We had hoped that would be the result. We are proud to have been able to bring the collection out of the private sector to India where it is planned to be on public display. Mr Mallya’s intervention shows just how much India has changed."