Ghandi's stuff

Mahatma Ghandi was undoubtfully one of the greatest men in history: a peace fighter who never shook in his beliefs in humanity until it cost him his life.

Now, some 60 years after his death, many of his personal belongings are to be auctioned as collectors items in New York. Notwithstanding the grotesque situation in the fact that the items of this poor man will bring thousands of pounds to some low-level capitalist speculators who probably have next to nothing of Ghandi's humanity, the reaction of India has been interesting: Mr. Ghandi's grandson has been trying to raise money to buy the items back for India, while there have been offers for the Indian government to buy it.
But why can't India's government just buy these items for a few thousand dollars!? Should this be such a problem for a country that spends some 20 Billion USD on military per year and plans to increase it!? Should this be such a problem for a country that only in 1997 jumped out as a nuclear power!?
I am sure Mahatma Ghandi would have been proud to see that the country he fought to liberate by peaceful means, is now one of the foremost military powers of the world, with an immense destructive power.

I am very well aware of the "security imperatives" of a country like India, and I have no illussions about any country's peaceful intentions (India today is perhaps more aptly described as the India of Narayan Apte rather than the India of Mahatma Ghandi...), but wouldn't it be a sign of respect to the memory of the grand old man that the Indian government spend some 300,000 USD on purchasing these items? It would represent one fifth of the cost of one Israeli Barak-Missile system, which India is apparently planning to buy 300 of.

I hope Mr. Ghandi's items return to India, but it would hopefully help for people to reflect on Ghandi's message rather than his stuff.