Gandhi seller pulls out too late

Gandhi is widely revered in India

The man selling personal effects of Mahatma Gandhi has called off the controversial sale at the last moment.

James Otis had offered Gandhi's iconic round glasses, a pocket watch, leather sandals at auction in New York.

But his decision to withdraw the items came only after bidding had begun and the items sold for $1.8m.

The Antiquorum auction house says that it will not finalise the sale, which was condemned by the Indian government, for two weeks.

"In the last few hours, I have decided, in the light of the controversy, not to sell Gandhi's personal items," said Mr Otis.

However, by the time Mr Otis made his decision the sale was already under way.

The items were reportedly sold to an Indian businessman, but the auction house will delay the final sale for a fortnight to allow legal issues to be resolved.

Pressure

The auction had led to uproar in India, with one minister calling it a "gross commercialisation".

The Indian government had come under immense pressure to bring back the items.

"Gandhiji himself would not have agreed to these conditions," India's Junior Foreign Minister Anand Sharma said earlier.

"Gandhiji's memory and values should not be violated, the auction should not take place," he said.

'Very dear'

Gandhi's spectacles, which he once said gave him "the vision to free India", a pair of his sandals and his pocket watch were among the five items due to be sold. A plate and a bowl used by Gandhi were also among the lots.

His leather sandals are among five items to be auctioned

"The Zenith watch that will be sold was gifted to him by Indira [Gandhi], who became the prime minister of India later on, and it was very dear to Bapu [Gandhi]," Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, told the BBC.

"The plate and the bowl are the ones from which he took his last meal before he was murdered.

"The sandals he made with his own hands, and he gifted them to a British army officer who had taken photographs during his halt in Aden when he was on his way to London to attend the round table conference [to discuss India's independence]," Mr Gandhi explained.

Mahatma Gandhi is widely revered in India as the leader of the independence movement against British rule.