The list of Indian artifacts, including cultural antiquities and figurines stolen over centuries and now returning home, is getting longer, particularly in the past decade. An analysis of government data reveals that the majority of additions to the Indian treasure trove happened in the past ten years, i.e., from 2014 to 2023, when as many as 344 were retrieved from foreign countries. This is a notable increase compared to the period from 1976 to 2013 when only 13 artifacts were brought back to India, highlighting a shift in efforts and outcomes in recent years.
More such antiquities are in the process of being repatriated, said sources in the Archaeological Survey of India under the Union Culture Ministry. Among the antiquities recovered from abroad during the past ten years, at least 31 artifacts retrieved from Australia, Singapore, the UK, and the USA belong to Tamil Nadu.
“The government is committed to bringing back the antiquities of Indian origin taken away from India. Whenever any such antiquity of Indian origin surfaces abroad, the ASI takes up the matter with the Indian Embassies/Missions abroad through the Ministry of External Affairs for retrieval,” said Union Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy in the Lok Sabha recently.
In a written reply to a query, he added that over centuries, innumerable priceless artifacts, some with deep cultural and religious significance, have been stolen and smuggled abroad.
The government has adopted a proactive approach to “bringing back Indian artifacts and cultural heritage”.
On numerous foreign visits, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the matter with global leaders and multilateral institutions.
Repatriation of Indian antiquities exported illegally is carried out irrespective of states. Whenever the theft of an antiquity is reported, an FIR is lodged in the concerned police station, and a “Look Out Notice” is issued to law enforcement agencies, including Custom Exit Channels, to keep vigil, trace stolen antiquities, and prevent their illegal export. If an antiquity is traced, the case is pursued by the concerned law enforcement agency in coordination with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for recovery, said Reddy.
The list of 157 artifacts that have been added to India’s treasure trove, handed over by the United States following Prime Minister Modi’s visits in 2016 and 2021, includes a diverse set of items ranging from the one-and-a-half-metre bas-relief panel of Revanta in sandstone of the 10th CE to the 8.5cm tall, exquisite bronze Nataraja from the 12th CE. The items largely belong to the period from the 11th CE to the 14th CE, as well as historic antiquities such as the copper anthropomorphic object of 2000 BC or the terracotta vase from the 2nd CE. Some 45 antiquities belong to the Before Common Era.
While half of the artifacts (71) are cultural, the other half consists of figurines related to Hinduism (60), Buddhism (16), and Jainism (9). Their make spreads across metal, stone, and terracotta. The bronze collection primarily contains ornate figurines of well-known postures such as Lakshmi Narayana, Buddha, Vishnu, Siva Parvathi, and the 24 Jain Tirthankaras, as well as the
less common Kankalamurti, Brahmi, and Nandikesa, besides other unnamed deities and
divine figures.
The motifs include religious sculptures from Hinduism (Three-headed Brahma, Chariot-Driving Surya, Vishnu and his Consorts, Siva as Dakshinamurti, Dancing Ganesha, etc), Buddhism (Standing Buddha, Bodhisattva Majushri, Tara), and Jainism (Jain Tirthankara, Padmasana Tirthankara, Jaina Choubisi), as well as secular motifs (Amorphous couple in Samabhanga, Chowri Bearer, Female playing drum, etc).
In 2013, one antiquity was returned to India from France; while in 2023, two were returned from Australia, seven from the UK, and 85 from the US, according to the data. A stone sculpture of Nagaraja (the serpent king) was retrieved from Australia in 2020, among the 291 antiquities retrieved since that year.
Last year, Scotland returned 7 artifacts that belonged to several regions across India, including a ceremonial Indo-Persian sword from the 14th century and an 11th-century carved stone door jamb seized from a temple in Kanpur. Similarly, in 2021, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, returned 15 artifacts. These included a ceramic pot from Chandraketugarh belonging to the 1st century B.C.E, a stone bust of Kamadeva, the God of Love, from the second half of the 8th century C.E, a Svetambara enthroned Jina, with attendant Yaksha and Yakshi from the 11th century CE, among other things. Officials said that 36 artifacts returned between 2017 and 2020 were from Australia, the US, and the United Kingdom. The recovered items included metal idols of Ram, Sita, and Laxman, a stone sculpture of Nataraj, stone sculptures of Brahma and Brahamani, a Bodhisattva head, a ‘Dancing Shiva,’ a metal Ganesh idol, and a Sri Devi artifact from the Chola period.
Several artifacts were handed over to India between 2014 and 2016, the initial period when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath as Prime Minister. The repatriated artifacts included the Nataraja and the Ardhanariswara artifact in 2014 from Australia, the Parrot Lady artifact from Canada, the Mahisamardini from Germany, while the Uma Parameshwari was returned by Singapore in 2015.
