A report says the Indian government is buying a collection of letters that may provide information on the relationship between India's independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhiand a German architect.

The correspondence between Gandhi and Hermann Kallenbach had been listed for sale by the international auctioneers Sotheby's in London.

Press Trust of India said the Ministry of Culture has agreed to pay the Kallenbach family slightly more than the catalog price ranging between $775,000 and $1.1 million. It would store the thousands of letters and photographs at the National Archives.

India's Gujarat state banned a book on Gandhi by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Joseph Lelyveld last year after reviews hinted Gandhi and Kallenbach had a sexual relationship. AP