In yet another attempt to bring back India's rare and precious idols and artworks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to the US signed a deal with the American authorities to bring back 105 antiquities, spanning a period from 2nd-3rd Century CE to 18th-19th Century, to India.
These valuable Indian antiquities were officially handed over by the Americans to the Indian authorities last week in a special repatriation ceremony held at the Consulate General of India in New York.
While addressing the ceremony, India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, said the repatriation of these antiques to India is "not just art but part of our heritage, culture, and religion.”
The authorities are now preparing to safely transport them to India.
Out of the 105 artifacts, which are made of terracotta, stone, metal, and wood, 47 of them are from Eastern India, 27 are from Southern India, 22 are from Central India, six are from Northern India, and three are from Western India, an official release said.
While around 50 artifacts are related to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Islam, the rest are of cultural significance.
US Returns 105 Antiquities to India Days After PM Modi's Visit
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Jordan Stockdale, Chief of Staff from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, said that for more than a decade, the agency, along with Homeland Security, has investigated trafficker Subhash Kapoor and his co-conspirators for illegally looting and selling artifacts from across the world.
Stockdale added that they still have more than 1,400 recovered objects, which have yet to be officially repatriated.
During Prime Minister Modi's visits to America, 16 antiques were handed over by the US government in 2016, while in 2021, over 157 artifacts were returned to India.
So far, the United States has handed over a total of 278 cultural artifacts to India since 2016, according to the official statement.