Great-grandson raises money to bid for Gandhi's glasses

An auction of several of Mahatma Gandhi's personal possessions, including his trademark round glasses, has triggered a campaign for the items to be returned to India.

Gandhi, who eschewed material possessions as part of his minimalist world view, led India's nationalist movement against British rule and was assassinated in Delhi by a Hindu fanatic in 1948, a year after India's independence.

Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, describing it as a "grave insult" for the independence leader's belongings to be sold off next month in New York, said he was trying to raise money to bring them home.