An auction, that starts today, offers a glimpse into the lives of the men who built post-Independence India.

Its well known that before Mohandas Gandhi launched the Satyagraha movement in India in 1917, he had deployed it, quite effectively, in South Africa in1907, when he was working as a barrister there. In a book entitled Satyagraha in South Africa, Gandhi writes: Satyagraha is a priceless and matchless weapon and that those who wield it are strangers to disappointment or defeat. This week, a fi rst edition of the book, published in 1928 and translated from Gujarati into English, will be up for auction at an event organised by auctioneer Prinseps. The collection is a tribute to three of Indias most signifi cant historical fi gures: Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

As father of the nation and freshly in the news because of the recent Gandhi Smriti incident its probably appropriate that Mohandas dominate the collection. Besides the satyagraha book, there is also a 70-volume set called The Collected Works of Gandhi, which spans a large period: Volume One covers the years from 1884 to 1896, while Volume 75 dates back to 1942. The books were authored jointly by Gandhi and his associates, like DG Tendulkar, says Indrajit Chatterjee of Prinseps. There are exceptionally rare and extremely important. According to our research, about 100 volumes were published, but weve only been able to source 70 for this auction. The government, Im told, has a few.

If there is an enduring interest in Gandhi, there is also a lot of curiosity about Subhas Chandra Bose, especially with debates about whether he survived the crash that is supposed to have killed him. While one of the books in the collection, entitled Verdict from Formosa: Gallant end of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, has its own theory, the other rare books relating to Bose include the original manifesto of the Forward Bloc [from June 1946] and the principles and policies of the Indian National Army (INA), both of which were founded by Bose. Some of the Netaji books have never been offered by any auction, says Chatterjee. We spent months researching what Netaji books are available in libraries in India and abroad, and we didnt find these anywhere. Therere also The Mission of My Life, written by Bose himself and published in 1949 by the Kolkata company Thacker Spink, and a collection of the text of all his speeches, put together in 1946 by one Arun. Theres also a first edition of The Springing Tiger: A Study of Subhas Chandra Bose by Briton Hugh Toye, a historical account of the INA.

The collection relating to the countrys first prime minister is smaller. But an interesting item in the Nehru section is a book entitled A Bunch of Old Letters correspondence between Nehru and people like Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu and even Franklin Roosevelt and George Bernard Shaw. The other eyecatcher is Nehru on Gandhi by Ricahrd J Walsh, published in 1948 which has portions culled from Nehrus speeches that make references to Gandhi.

What makes these books valuable is that besides being published in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, very few of these have made it to any libraries, says Chatterjee. They were often printed on newsprint quality paper, and given the India climate, one can only assume that many other, similar books may have simply disintegrated over time. Its remarkable that even these have survived, given our tendency to reuse paper from old books or turn them into bhelpuri wrappers.

This no-reserve auction of rare books and prints starts today, 10 am onwards, and closes on Jan 26 at 7 pm. Visit: http://www.prinseps.com

Continue reading here:
In the name of the father - Mumbai Mirror