324 antiquities brought back to India from 2003-2023: Govt to Parliament

A total of 324 antiquities have been brought back to India during 2003-2023, the government informed Parliament on Thursday.

Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in the Rajya Sabha.

He was asked whether it is a fact that a number of stolen Indian antiquities have been brought back to India during the last two decades.

A total of 324 antiquities have been brought back to India during 2003-2023, according to the data shared by the minister.

In his response, he also informed the Upper House that a total of 291 antiquities have been retrieved since 2020.

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.