Retrieving lost glory: PM brings back 157 artefacts from US

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bringing back a 12th-century bronze statue of Nataraja (Dancing Shiva), statues and motifs of Hindu gods and goddesses including Vishnu, Lakshmi and Parvati, Standing Buddha, Jain Tirthankars, a Dancing Ganesha, and an 18th-century sword with a sheath which has inscription mentioning Guru Hargovind Singh in Persian, among other things. A report by Krishnanand Tripathi, ETV Bharat

New Delhi:In a major success for the country’s quest to recover antique artefacts stolen from India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bringing back 157 such artefacts and antique items from the USA that were stolen from India and smuggled out of the country, said the Prime Minister’s Office.

These 157 artefacts and antiquities were handed over to India by the US authorities during Prime Minister Modi’s visit.

After assuming charge in May 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid great emphasis on bringing back the symbols of India’s past glory that were stolen, smuggled out of the country.

However, the US visit to attend the United Nations General Assembly and first ever physical summit of four Quad nations, proves to be the most successful so far as the host nation handed over 157 artefacts to India, which is more than three-fourth of all the artefacts recovered during Prime Minister Modi’s seven year tenure.

Officials said Prime Minister Modi conveyed his deep appreciation to the US authorities for returning these items to India.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the US President Joe Biden committed to strengthen their efforts to combat the theft, illicit trade and trafficking of cultural objects,” said the officials.

What PM is bringing back?

According to an official statement, the list of 157 artefacts includes a diverse set to items ranging from the one-and-a-half metre bas relief panel of Revanta in sandstone of the 10th CE to the 8.5 centimetre tall, exquisite bronze Nataraja from the 12th CE.

These items largely belong to the period of 11th CE to 14th CE as well as historic antiquities such as the copper anthropomorphic object of 2000 BC or the terracotta vase from the 2nd CE.

According to officials, some 45 antiquities belong to Before Common Era.

Artefacts related to Hinduism, Budhism & Jainism

While half of the artifacts (71) are cultural, the other half consists of figurines which relate to Hinduism (60), Buddhism (16) and Jainism (9).

According to officials, their make spreads across metal, stone and terracotta.

Four-armed vishnu

The bronze collection primarily contains ornate figurines of the well-known postures of Lakshmi Narayana, Buddha, Vishnu, Siva Parvathi and the 24 Jain Tirthankaras and the less common Kankalamurti, Brahmi and Nandikesa besides other unnamed deities and divine figures.

Three Thirthankaras seated

Three headed Brahma, Dancing Ganesha

The motifs include religious sculptures from Hinduism such as Three headed Brahma, Chariot Driving Surya, Vishnu and his Consorts, Siva as Dakshinamurti, Dancing Ganesha among others.

In case of Buddhism related artefacts, these include Standing Buddha, Boddhisattva Majushri and Tara.

Seated Budha

In case of Jainism related antiquities, these include Jain Tirthankara, Padmasana Tirthankara, Jaina Choubisi.

The returned artefacts also include secular motifs as well such as Amorphous couple in Samabhanga, Chowri Bearer, Female playing drum and other such antiquities.

Two male figures standing on a corner

Terracotta items

According to the list prepared by the Prime Minister’s office, there are 56 terracotta pieces in the returned items. These include a

Vase dating back to the 2nd CE, Pair of Deer from the 12th CE, and a Bust of Female from the 14th CE, and an 18th CE sword with sheath with inscription mentioning Guru Hargovind Singh in Persian.

PM Modi’s big push for retrieving lost glory

According to officials, after assuming office in May 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made continuous efforts to recover ancient items looted or stolen from India during his official visits.

Officials said these persistent efforts bore results as the country has either recovered or in the process of getting back more than 200 antique items since 2014 whereas only one antique item was recovered between 2004 and 2014.

Similarly, between 1976 and 2013, only 13 such antiquities had been returned to the country.

“This means, in 7 years, Modi government has brought back more ancient Indian treasures than the 4 decades before it,” officials said.

Which countries returned Indian artefacts?

The US is not alone in returning the ancient items looted or stolen from India.

According to officials, there are 119 antique items that are in the process of being retrieved from countries such as United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, Singapore and Germany.

In July this year, National Gallery of Australia announced its plans to return $2.2 million of stolen artworks to India.

According to officials, the returned items included antiquities stolen from almost every region of India, such as Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Bihar.

Officials also highlight that due to strong measures taken by the government there have been no thefts reported from any centrally protected monument or site museum under ASI in the past few years.