Final effort to prevent Gandhi items' auction

India's government intensified efforts to buy back some personal belongings of iconic leader Mahatma Gandhi from an auction in New York as a New Delhi court injunction may have failed to halt the sale.

The Indian freedom hero's trademark wire-rimmed glasses, a pair of worn leather sandals, a pocket watch and a metal bowl and plate are up for sale in New York today and tomorrow.

Indians view the items as part of their national heritage and want them to be kept in a museum. The Indian government is holding talks with the Antiquorum Auctioneers to take the items off the auction, a government official said.