A total of 101 seized antiquities were handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) by the customs department on Thursday. These articles included a 206-year-old tracker telescope used by the British East India Company.
Two other notable antiquities were also handed in. One is a ‘palm leaf manuscript’ comprising 155 leaves with hard wooden supporting covers - top and bottom. The contents are said to be in classical Champu (a form of poetry composition in Indian literature) with metres and rhythms in modern Odia script and language.
The second one is a manuscript of 17 leaves made of hand-made paper written in Devanagari script appearing to contain Buddhist texts. These were seized in 2019 and 2020 while an attempt was being made to export them to Spain and France respectively.
The handing-over ceremony, conducted by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) from New Delhi, was held at seven different locations like Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Delhi, Guwahati, Mumbai and Pune and was presided over by Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in virtual mode.
The seized articles of antiquities were handed over by different field formations of Customs to ASI for display and specialised care. Out of the 101 antiquities, a few will be displayed at ‘Dharohar’- the National Museum of Customs and CGST at Goa, a statement by the Finance Ministry said.
Ms. Sitharaman also released a brochure depicting select antiquities that were a part of the ceremony and handed over an Idol of Lord Vishnu (Perumal) belonging to the late medieval period to the Director General, ASI as part of the ceremony.
She said that many artefacts and antiquities have been brought back in recent times. The customs department is contributing to protecting the record of India’s rich history with these seizures, she said.
The Union Finance Minister emphasised handling the religious texts, artefacts, and antiquities with care.
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