New Delhi: In the last five years, 2020 to 2024, 610 antiquities have been retrieved from six different countries. Among them, 559 were from the USA, the Modi government informed Parliament Monday.
Also in this time, seven antiques were stolen from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
However, half of them were recovered through diplomatic channels. But the government did not reveal if the stolen antiques are back in their place of origin.
Putta Mahesh Kumar, TDP MP in Lok Sabha asked the Ministry of Culture whether the government has conducted any study regarding the theft of Indian artefacts during the last five years and if steps were initiated for increasing awareness.
“The government conducts awareness programmes, exhibitions and workshops for increasing awareness regarding stolen Indian artefacts and their recovery. Special programmes are conducted on various occasions for increasing awareness among people,” Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Union Culture Minister said Lok Sabha Monday.
Shekhawat also said that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) maintains up to date data of theft at protected monuments, sites and museums under its jurisdiction.
Among the antiques stolen was a copper ‘Kalasa’ from the Sadashiva Temple of Karnataka in 2020, a ‘Nandi’ sculpture from Andhra Pradesh in 2021, a shivalinga from Uttarakhand in 2021, two sculptures of Buddha in ‘Bhumisparsha mudra’ from Jharkhand in 2021, a stone idol of ‘Ganpati’ from Karnataka in 2022, an idol of Vishnu from Bihar in 2022 and an idol of Vishnu from Tamil Nadu in 2022.
The Modi government gave country wise details: Antiques have been retrieved from Australia, Canada, Italy, Thailand, UK and USA. The highest retrieval is 559 between 2020-24 from the USA, then 34 from Australia and then 14 from the UK.
Since 2014 when Narendra Modi came to power, 640 antiques have returned to India and only about a dozen are back at their state of origin. Between 1947 and 2014, only 13 antiques were retrieved.
The repatriation of artefacts was part of Modi’s aggressive drive to recover trafficked antiques. ThePrint reported earlier that each object’s return is celebrated and wrapped in triumphant headlines. But their afterlife in India reveals a more complex story of roadblocks.
However, repatriated treasures such as the 12th-century Dancing Ganesha and the 11th-century marble Brahma-Brahmani were exhibited in an exhibition titled Glimpses of Return during the G20 summit in Delhi. “Their return signifies a cultural revival and a powerful message—heritage belongs to its roots. They are fragments of India’s soul,” Nandini Sahu, spokesperson and joint director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) told ThePrint earlier.
In 2023, PM Modi said that no museum in the world should hold on to any artwork acquired unethically.
“Before and after Independence, statues were taken out of our country in an unethical manner. With India’s growing reputation around the world, various countries have started returning its heritage to India,” said Modi.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: The afterlife of stolen antiquities when they are returned to India