Modi's June visit to the US meant homecoming for India's 105 trafficked antiquities
India artefacts
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the United States is set to bring home 105 trafficked antiquities. On Monday, a repatriation ceremony was held in the Indian consulate in New York in which the Indian ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, thanked the US side for their cooperation in retrieving India's antiquities of historical significance.
"The antiquities will soon be transported to India," an official readout by New York's Consulate General of India stated on Monday.
Modi's US visit and India's bid to bring back its lost antiquities
During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the United States, Washington and New Delhi agreed to work on a Cultural Property Agreement aimed at preventing the illegal trafficking of cultural artefacts.
Also read |G20 Culture Group meet: India to receive more than 100stolen artefacts from the US in next 6 months
"Such an understanding will add further value to the bilateral collaboration between Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies of the two countries,"India's New York consulate said on Monday.
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Which antiquities are being returned to India?
According to the aforementioned official readout, the 105 artefacts represent a wide geographical spread in terms of their origin in India: 47 of these are from eastern India, 27 from Southern India, 22 from Centra India, 6 from Northern India and 3 from Western India.
"Spanning a period from 2nd-3rd century CE to 18-19th century CE, the artefacts are made of terracotta, stone, metal and wood. Around 50 artefacts relate to religious subjects (Hinduism, Jainism and Islam) and the rest are of cultural significance," the readout added.
Also watch |Indian PM Modi thanks Morrison after Australia returns 29 artefacts
India has been making concerted efforts to bring back stolen Indian antiquities, which New Delhi deems as the "living symbols of rich Indian heritage and culture".
Previously, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2016 visit to the United States, 16 antiquities were handed over by the US side. In 2021, the United States handed over 157 artefacts.
So far, the US side has handed over a total of 278 artefacts to India since 2016.
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