New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has recommended several measures — ranging from a mechanism to retrieve the Kohinoor and other antiquities to establishing dedicated cultural heritage squads — to ensure that India’s stolen antiquities are recovered and preserved.
The report, titled ‘Heritage Theft – The Illegal Trade in Indian Antiquities and the Challenges of Retrieving and Safeguarding Our Tangible Cultural Heritage’, was tabled in both houses of Parliament Monday. It was presented by the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by V. Vijayasai Reddy of the YSR Congress.
The report highlights challenges in documenting, identifying, safeguarding and repatriating antiquities and lost cultural wealth. One of its chapters, titled ‘retrieval of antiquities’, talks about the Kohinoor.
It observes that according to an opinion from the Department of Legal Affairs, the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property allows countries to conclude special agreements among themselves for the restitution of removed cultural property. The law secretary also told the committee that “legislative competence exists” for formulating a law for the restitution of the Kohinoor to India.
However, the Ministry of Culture had a different viewpoint on this issue. It told the committee that the provisions of the convention are applied from the date of ratification by the country, and that there is no provision for the convention being enforced retrospectively — as in the case of Kohinoor, which was taken away before the convention was put in place. The ministry, therefore, said the only recourse was negotiation.
The committee has asserted that “that there is nothing to prevent India from seeking the restitution of the Kohinoor and other antiquities stolen, taken or removed in whatsoever way prior to Independence or prior to the 1970 Convention.”
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Cultural heritage squads
The report begins by recalling the “colonial plunder of India’s tangible cultural heritage” while asserting that rampant theft and smuggling of idols, antiquities and artefacts from temples, forts, archaeological sites and even museums in modern India has gone “largely unheeded”. It says that many of these incidents of heritage theft are often not reported to law enforcement agencies or to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), “possibly because no one knows exactly what has been stolen and when it has been stolen”.
The report quotes a UNESCO estimate that about 50,000 idols and artefacts were stolen out of India till 1989.
The committee has recommended amendments in several laws. For instance, the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, currently provides for a punishment of six months to three years, with a fine, for anybody who exports any antiquity or art treasure in violation of the law.
The committee has recommended that this punishment be increased to seven years, along with a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh to deter the illegal export of antiquities.
It has also recommended the establishment of a dedicated ‘cultural heritage squad’ to track and recover of stolen antiquities, noting that several countries such as Italy, Canada, Netherlands, the USA, Scotland, Spain and France have teams of experts for this purpose.
‘Subhash Kapoor an eye-opener’
The committee has emphasised the importance of coordination among different agencies and ministries, including the Ministry of Culture, the ASI, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs, state governments, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
The report recommends that the Ministry of Culture explore the possibility of establishing a dedicated ‘cultural heritage division’ in consultation with all these agencies and ministries.
Referring to the art thief, Subhash Kapoor, as a cautionary tale, it calls for a more proactive approach towards the prevention of antique theft and the retrieval of stolen artefacts. Kapoor was convicted of the theft and illegal export of antique artefacts by a trial court in Tamil Nadu and sentenced to 10 years in jail last November.
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ED watch
The report refers to the fact that the ED looks after the enforcement of two key laws — the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. It notes that as soon as an FIR on the smuggling of antiquities is filed, the ED also registers a case under PMLA, to identify the proceeds of crime generated from the smuggling.
The committee has pointed out that under FEMA, the ED can levy a penalty and, in certain circumstances, can also attach the proceeds of crime in cases of money generated from smuggling of antiquities or artworks.
The ED also informed the committee that there are no clear provisions, rules or guidelines on the valuation of antiquities under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972.
The report asserts that the valuation of antiquities is essential “as it will attach a monetary figure to the antiquities being stolen/smuggled and retrieved/ claimed”, and that “Indian Tangible Cultural Heritage is the national wealth and it is important to ascertain the value of it”. It reiterates the ED’s proposal for the establishment of an independent body comprising members from the the ED, other law enforcement agencies, the ASI and heritage experts to carry out this valuation.
Latest spy cameras, 24/7 security
According to the Ministry of Culture, frisking metal detectors, burglar alarms, CCTV cameras, and the latest spy cameras have been installed in all archaeological museums of the ASI. There’s 24×7 security at these museums, and they’re equipped with CCTV cameras, baggage scanners, firefighting equipment, hand-held detectors, fire alarms, smoke detectors, and door frame metal detectors.
However, the ministry said that in most cases, state governments and private agencies don’t share information on the theft of antiquities with the ASI. It said that out of 486 antiquities stolen from various protected monuments and sites of the ASI since Independence, only 91 had been recovered so far.
The committee underlines the need for the security of antiquities at different national museums and centrally protected monuments across the country. For instance, it says that out of 3,695 centrally protected monuments and sites under ASI, only 83 had been provided with CCTV cameras. Therefore, it adds, the ASI is not utilising the available technology for the protection of “our priceless antiquities and monuments”.
‘Will attract international tourists’
The committee has emphasised that the documentation of antiquities plays a vital role in retrieving or claiming stolen antiquities and proving their ownership.
The government launched the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) in March 2007 to document India’s monuments and antiquities. But the report says that in the 15 years since its inception, the NMMA has only documented 16.8 lakh antiquities out of a total estimated 58 lakh — about 30 percent of the total.
It also notes that even though the NMMA was later merged with the ASI, the documentation process is yet to be completed in the ASI’s 55 site museums. Expressing dissatisfaction, the committee has recommended that the ASI complete this work by the end of 2023.
The report also says that the “digitisation process in the National Museum is long overdue” and recommends that the authorities expedite the process.
It emphasises that India has put forth the agenda of “Technological Transformation and Digital Public Infrastructure” as one of the six priorities for the G20 dialogue in 2023 and “should lead by example”. It further says that the government should strive to prioritise the documentation of antiquities at those locations/sites that have been identified for the G20 summit in September.
“Having a digital record of India’s tangible cultural heritage will further attract international tourists and result in promoting tourism at these locations,” adds the report.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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