Officials in India announced the recovery of 29 stolen antiquities from Australia. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed them ahead of his virtual meeting with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
According to cultural minister G Kishan Reddy, the artefacts would be handed over to temples in their respective states. ‘The antiquities, primarily sculptures and paintings, which have been brought back from Australia today, are part of a special drive. Soon, we will hand over those items to respective states, their temples’, Reddy said.
Officials said the retrieval was part of India’s attempts to recover stolen sculptures and artworks from other countries.
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Shiva Bhairava, a 9th or 10th-century sandstone sculpture from Rajasthan, the child saint Sambandar, a 12th-century bronze statue from Tamil Nadu and a picture of Shiva and Parvati from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, are among the relics repatriated.
As per UNESCO, more than 50,000 idols and artefacts have been taken from India over time. Since 1972, a total of 241 such antiquities have been found from the UK, Singapore, Germany, Canada, the United States, and Australia, including 228 in the last eight years. Of these, 157 objects have been returned from the United States.
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