Pilferage of ancient Indian artifacts worrisome
The successful raid by US authorities that led to the confiscation of ancient Indian antique pieces just four days before they were to be sold off by one of the world's most reputed auction houses, tells two stories: First, how security and intelligence cooperation between friendly nations can help bring back the lost pieces of our heritage; and, second, how much of our ancient treasures has been stolen from us and how we are still not doing enough to reverse or even contain the damage. last week, officials from the US Homeland Security Department seized two ancient Jain and Hindu statues, worth about $4,50,000, that had been illegally procured, from Christie's auction house.
One is a 10th century sandstone statue of the first Jain Tirthankar, Rishabhanatha, and the other is an eighth century sandstone panel of Revanta, son of the sun-god. The raid was done under Operation Hidden Idol, a joint effort by the US and Indian authorities to crack down on the large-scale loot of Indian antiques and return lost items to their rightful place. The operation made headlines in April 2015 when the Manhattan District Attorney's office made public the largest antiquities seizure in American history and took custody of as many as 2,622 artifacts that had been recovered from notorious art dealer Subhash Kapoor. Valued at a whopping $107.6 million, these artifacts were looted mostly from India (although some were taken from other South Asian nations as well). The recovery in itself was a long process — the result of a trans-national investigation that began in 2012.
Today, Kapoor, an American citizen, sits in a jail cell in Chennai, where he is awaiting trial, but there are several others like him who are still out there. It is important to understand here that the antiquities ‘trade' is highly sophisticated and well organised. Millions of dollars are at stake, and sometimes reputed museums and art houses, who proudly display illegally sourced artifacts, are as much a part of the problem as corrupt Customs officials, bureaucrats and police officers who directly collude with smugglers. In India, the situation is made worse by the fact that the public does not necessarily see this as a big problem. This perception is shared by elected representatives as well as security and intelligence agencies. Bringing back stolen temple wealth is simply not a priority.
There is a slim ray of hope. High-profile busts in recent years have increased awareness of the problem. And Operation Hidden Idol is just one example of how India can and should collaborate with its friends and partners around the world to protect its heritage. After all, as much as these treasures are of national value, they are also important to mankind in general — just like the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha or Palmyra was not just an Afghan or Syrian loss, the theft of idols from the Jain temples at Mount Abu, for example, chip away at the civilisational achievements of the human race as a whole.