Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inspected 29 stolen antiquities dating as far back as 9th Century that were brought back to India from Australia about a week ago.
Mr. Modi thanked his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison for the return of the antiquities, while speaking at the second India-Australia virtual summit on Monday. He said the antiquities had been taken illegally from Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and other States.
Divided into 6 categories
According to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials, the antiquities would be sent back to the States where they were stolen from, in case FIRs were filed. In a tweet, the Culture Ministry said the antiquities were divided into six broad categories: Shiva and his disciples; worshipping Shakti; Lord Vishnu and his forms; Jain tradition; and portraits and decorative objects.
An ASI official said with these antiquities from Australia, the number of retrieved antiquities since 2014 had reached 228. Three more - one each from Italy, the United Kingdom and Australia - would soon be brought back as they had been handed over to Indian high commissions in those countries
The antiquities, comprising a mix of sculptures, paintings, portraits and decorative objects, range from States across the country. While 15 of the 29 artefacts have been identified as belonging to Rajasthan, the rest have been marked as originally from Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal.
The oldest antiquity, a sandstone idol titled ‘Shiva Bhairava’ is believed to date back to 9th-10th century CE.
Other antiquities include a bronze statue of seventh-century child saint ‘Sambandar’ from Tamil Nadu, a 12th century sandstone statue from Gujarat depicting Goddess Durga slaying the buffalo demon, and 11th century marble relics from Mount Abu showing the arch of a Jain shrine and a Jain sculpture.
The repatriated items also consist of photographic and painted portraits of Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad Yamin, and Hiralal A. Gandhi among others.
In 2019, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had announced the return of other Indian artefacts held by the National Gallery of Australia. “Like India, we understand the value of our ancient cultures and artefacts,” the Australian Prime Minister had said. “The return of these artefacts is the right thing to do. This is another demonstration of the deep relationship between Australia and India.”
