Gandhi was shot dead in 1948 and after his cremation several urns containing his ashes were dispatched to his followers across the country to be displayed at memorials.

One of those urns was handed over in 2007 to a museum dedicated to Gandhi by an Indian business family that had preserved it for almost 60 years.

The Mani Bhawan Gandhi Sangralaya had plans to display the urn along with Gandhi's personal belongings, but his descendants intervened, asking the museum to consider scattering the ashes at sea.

"In deference to the wishes of the family the ashes will be scattered over the Arabian Sea on Jan. 30, which is his 60th death anniversary," museum official Dhirubhai Mehta said.

Hindus normally cremate their dead and scatter the ashes over rivers or seas on the 13th day after death.