Who 'owns' Gandhi's thoughts?

Last week, a number of letters, manuscripts and personal artefacts of Mahatma Gandhi from the personal collection of his close associate, Anand T Hingorani, were sold at auction. Among these, Gandhi’s 688 reflections, handwritten over nearly two years and titled “A Thought for the Day”, fetched a record-breaking ₹16.20 crore. The auction has triggered a debate on whether national treasures of such deep historical significance should be sold at all. One view is that private ownership is justified and might even help preserve such treasures better. The counterargument is that since these relate to Gandhi, these objects belong in a museum or a national archive, which will make them widely accessible, including to researchers. Join our webinar as we discuss this sensitive and emotional subject.