Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bilateral meeting with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, at Greenville, Delaware, in USA on September 21, 2024.
Wilmington: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States to attend the Quad leaders summit, the US side facilitated the return of 297 antiquities that had been stolen or trafficked from India.
These antiquities will shortly be repatriated to India and in a symbolic handing over, a select few pieces were showcased to Prime Minister Modi and the US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of their bilateral meeting in Wilmington, Delaware.
Modi thanked President Biden for his support in the return of these artefacts. He noted that these objects were not just part of India’s historical material culture, but formed the inner core of its civilization and consciousness.
The antiquities span almost 4000 years, from 2000 BCE – 1900 CE, and have origins in different parts of India. The majority of the antiquities are terracotta artefacts from eastern India, while others are made in stone, metal, wood and ivory and belong to different parts of the country. Some of the notable antiquities handed over are:
- Apsara in sandstone from Central India belonging to the 10-11th century CE;
- Jain Tirthankar in bronze from Central India belonging to the 15-16th century CE;
- Terracotta vase from Eastern India belonging to 3-4th century CE;
- Stone Sculpture from South India belonging to 1st century BCE-1st century CE;
- Lord Ganesh in Bronze from South India belonging to 17-18th century CE;
- Standing Lord Buddha in sandstone from North India belonging 15-16th century CE;
- Lord Vishnu in Bronze from Eastern India belonging to 17-18th century CE;
- Anthropomorphic figure in copper from North India belonging to 2000-1800 BCE;
- Lord Krishna in bronze from South India belonging to the 17-18th century CE,
- Lord Karthikeya in granite from South India belonging to the 13-14th century CE.
Since 2016, the US Government has facilitated the return of a large number of trafficked or stolen antiquities. 10 antiquities were returned during Modi’s visit to the USA in June 2016; 157 antiquities during his visit in September 2021 and a further 105 antiquities during his visit in June last year.
The total number of cultural artefacts returned from the US to India since 2016 stands at 578. This is the maximum number of cultural artefacts returned by any country to India.
It may be mentioned that in recent times, restitution of cultural property has become an important aspect of India-US cultural understanding and exchange.
In keeping with close bilateral ties and to foster greater cultural understanding, the US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India signed a Cultural Property Agreement in July 2024 to fulfil the commitments made by President Biden and Prime Minister Modi to enhance cooperation to protect cultural heritage, as reflected in the Joint Statement issued after their meeting in June 2023.
– global bihari bureau
