Antiquities

At least 1,440 antiquities collectively valued at USD 10 million will be returned to India, a statement has said. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., in a statement on Wednesday, said the pieces recovered under several ongoing investigations into criminal trafficking networks, including those of alleged antiquities trafficker Subhash Kapoor and convicted trafficker Nancy Wiener, were returned at a ceremony with Manish Kulhary from the Consulate General of India here and Alexandra deArmas, Group Supervisor from the Homeland Security Investigation of New York Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities Group. Bragg announced the return of 1,440 antiquities collectively valued at USD 10 million to the people of India, according to the statement. "We will continue to investigate the many trafficking networks that have targeted Indian cultural heritage," Bragg said. The returned pieces included a sandstone sculpture depicting a Celestial Dancer looted from a temple in Madhya ..

India and the United States on Friday their first agreement to prevent illegal trafficking of cultural property and return of antiquarian objects to their place of origin, the Ministry of Culture said. The US-India Cultural Property Agreement was signed by Union Cultural Secretary Govind Mohan and US envoy Eric Garcetti in the presence of Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the sidelines of the ongoing 46th session of the World Heritage Committee at Bharat Mandapam here. Interacting with the press later, Shekhawat said it is a general agreement that will allow "smooth repatriation" of historic artefact from the US to India. He added that there are "297 items" that are "lying in the US, ready to be repatriated." India has repatriated 358 antiquities since 1976, out of these 345 have been retrieved since 2014, the minister said. "The agreement aims to prevent illegal trafficking of cultural property and retrieval of antiquarian objects to their place of origin," the

A total of 344 antiquities have been returned to India from other countries since 2014, the government informed the Parliament on Monday. Union Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha. Only one antiquity had been returned to India during 2004-13, according to the data shared by him in his response. A total of 115 antiquities were returned to India in 2023, and 344 antiquities have been returned since 2014, he said. On a query regarding smuggled antiquities, he replied that 314 antiquities have been repatriated during the last five years, and he also shared the country-wise data. From the US, 262 such items were repatriated in the last five years, 15 from the UK, 35 antiquities were returned from Australia and one from Italy in the same period. The issue of repatriation was attempted to be addressed in the Culture Working Group event during the G20 Summit. The subjects was "Re(ad)dress: Return of Treasures", he added. Reddy, in .

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.

A Parliamentary standing committee has recommended establishing a "dedicated cultural heritage squad" for the recovery of stolen antiquities, with a team of officers who can be trained on various aspects of retrieval, as followed by different countries. The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture said this in a report laid in both Houses of Parliament on Monday. The committee, in its "Three Hundred Forty Eighth Report on the subject 'Heritage Theft - The Illegal Trade in Indian Antiquities and the Challenges of Retrieving and Safeguarding Our Tangible Cultural Heritage'", recommended that the government set up a "multi-departmental task force" to speed up the retrieval process. The task force should include senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (police and investigation), the Ministry of External Affairs (for coordination with foreign governments), the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and senior scholars and experts. Th

The panel said the government should make all efforts to ensure that the Kohinoor diamond, currently with the British royal family, and other precious historical artefacts are returned to India

The envoys remarks come at a time when more than 105 antiquities, spanning a period from 2nd-3rd Century CE to 18th-19th Century CE, are being repatriated to India by the American authorities

Nearly 240 antiquities have been brought back to India from various countries in the last nine years and 72 more of such artefacts are in the process of being repatriated, the government said on Monday. The government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is committed to bringing back our antiquities and artefacts from across the world, it said. As on April 24, 251 invaluable antiquities of Indian origin have been retrieved back from different countries, of which 238 have been brought back since 2014, according to data shared by the Press Information Bureau in a statement titled 'Rejuvenating India's Cultural and Spiritual Heritage'. Further, nearly 72 antiquities are in the process of being repatriated from various countries, it said. The PIB also tweeted about this and the post was retweeted by Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy. It shared a poster with data on the antiquities that have been repatriated, according to which 13 were retrieved between 19

Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday said 229 antiquities, which were taken out of India during different eras, have been retrieved from overseas during the past eight years, while this number was only 13 before 2014, reflecting the Centre's resolve to bring valuable articles associated with cultural pride back to the country. Asked about bringing back the Kohinoor diamond from Britain, Reddy said he would like the famed jewel to be in the country. He was talking to reporters on the margins of the first G20 working group meeting of culture which began at Maharaja Chhatrasal Convention Centre (MCCC) at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district. The meeting will go on till February 25 at Khajuraho, an ancient city known for its magnificent temples and intricate sculptures and located some 370km from the state capital Bhopal. India currently holds the presidency of G20 or Group of 20 - an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing ...

A total of 229 antiquities have been retrieved from foreign countries since 2014, the government said on Thursday and asserted that the Centre is committed to bring back antiquities of Indian-origin which were taken away from the country. Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy was also asked in a written query as to whether the government is making any plan for "bringing back the Kohinoor diamond from England". Among the set of queries, the minister was asked whether it is a fact that under the repatriation scheme, the government is fixing any accountability, on moral grounds, on the foreign forces which oppressed India for a long period, to which Reddy in a written response, said, "No sir, there is no such scheme". Asked whether the government is contemplating bringing back valuable articles of ancient Indian heritage taken abroad, the minister responded with data. The government of India is "committed to bring back the antiquities of Indian origin which were taken away from India"

The artefacts were showcased at a makeshift exhibit at the feet of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, 24 km southwest of the capital

Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought back 157 artefacts and antiquities, which were handed over to India by the US during his visit

India has no record of how many artefacts have been stolen from temples and archaeologically-significant sites

Amendments to the antiquities Act have been on the cards for a while, and it is hoped the government will ease these sooner rather than later. The opening of a museum within Purana Qila in Delhi augur

The antiquities were 'voluntarily returned' by the countries between 2014 and 2017