Days after PM Modi's historic visit, USA hands over 105 stolen antiquities to India

After the historic visit of PM Narendra Modi to the USA in the month of June 2023, the United States has decided to repatriate 105 stolen antiquities to India. The antiquities were handed over from the US side to the Indian side in a repatriation ceremony held at the Indian Consulate in New York on Monday, June 17. 

Indian envoy to the United States, Tanarjit Singh Sandhu, stated that for the Indian people, “these were not just pieces of art but part of their living heritage and culture,”

Sandhu, thanked the US side, in particular Manhattan District Attorney, Mr. Alvin Bragg and his Anti-Trafficking Unit and the Homeland Security Investigation team for their support and cooperation. 

_{(The repatriation ceremony was attended by senior officials from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Homeland Security Investigation team)}

The 105 antiquities come from all across India: 47 are from Eastern India, 27 are from Southern India, 22 are from Central India, 6 are from Northern India, and 3 are from Western India.  The antiquities, which span from the second to third century CE to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries CE, are made of terracotta, stone, metal, and wood. Around 50 antiquities are religious in nature [Hinduism, Jainism, and Islam], while the rest hold cultural significance. 

According to Indian Consulate, the antiquities will be transferred to India soon. Senior members of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the Homeland Security Investigation team attended the repatriation ceremony. 

India and the US agreed to work on a Cultural Property Agreement during the State Visit in order to jointly stop the illegal trafficking of cultural antiquities. The dynamic bilateral cooperation between Homeland Security and the law enforcement agencies of the two nations would be further enhanced by such an arrangement. 

Republic has published numerous investigative reports over the years seeking the repatriation of important items of Indian origin that have by various means made their way to foreign museums and private collections.