New Delhi: A UK man’s video from India’s National Museum has gone viral after he joked about the limited number of artefacts on display.
The viral clip has once again sparked conversations about how India continues to feel the impact of colonial looting.
In the video, travel influencers Alex and Amina can be seen walking through the National Museum in New Delhi. Alex asks, “Amina, do you know why there are hardly any artefacts in the National Museum of India?”
“I think it’s because they’re all in London,” replies Amina. It has earned widespread praise from Indians online.
The video, titled “Why the museums in India are empty,” has garnered more than 33,000 likes and over 5 lakh views.
“London has more Indian things than India,” reads one popular comment on their Instagram post.
Another user referred to the Victoria and Albert Museum as a ‘Chor Bazaar’.
Alex has journeyed extensively across India. His vlogs focus on exploring the local cuisine and historical landmarks. Amina specialises in budget-friendly travel experiences. She has explored destinations like Malaysia, South Korea, and Sri Lanka. Both of them are currently in Kerala.
Also read: Ban British Museum officials from Indian events. We’re legitimising loot: Author Shyam Bhatia
Bringing artefacts back
According to the website of the National Museum, there are over 2,00,000 artefacts covering a span of more than five thousand years of Indian and foreign cultural heritage. The museum’s collection includes sculptures, paintings, manuscripts, coins, decorative arts, and textiles.
“The British took away many of India’s invaluable treasures, but we also have lakhs of artefacts in Indian museums—about 90 per cent of which are not even on display and are kept preserved,” said a senior official of the National Museum on the condition of anonymity.
The official explained that even though many of India’s artefacts are displayed in museums of other countries, the world knows who they truly belong to.
“Even though we don’t have the Kohinoor with us, the names ‘India’ and ‘Kohinoor’ are always mentioned together—which itself shows where it truly belongs,” the official said.
Since 2014, a whopping 640 stolen antiquities have been brought back to India. The government is continually working to bring back Indian antiquities & artefacts from across the world.
“It’s painful to see our artefacts and history displayed in museums of other countries,” said the National Museum official.
He also added that authorities and the government continue to make efforts to bring back many items, and there are still many more to recover.
“We don’t want to visit other countries’ museums to see our own artefacts—we will bring them back to display in our own museums,” he said.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)