Stolen idols: US accounts for largest number of returned artefacts

Recently, idols wing of Tamil Nadu CID initiated the process for retrieving six Chola-era idols from US

Reports that the idol wing of the Criminal Investigation Department in Tamil Nadu has initiated the process of retrieving six Chola-era idols from the United States of America has once again brought attention to the issue of Indian historical artefacts that have been illegally transported to other countries.

According to a recent reply by the Union government in the Lok Sabha, the US accounted for the largest number of recoveries of stolen Indian idols and heritage objects since 2014 under the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA).

In the reply, the Union Minister of Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy said out of 229 such heritage objects recovered since 2014, 178 were found in museums and auction houses across the US.

Six idols

The bronze idols were reported to have been stolen from the Nareeswara Sivan temple, Veeracholapuram in Kallakurichi district, in the 1960s, and are currently kept at various US museums. The process of retrieval would be conducted under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) between the Indian and the US governments.

The CID traced down the idols to the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, Christie’s Auction and Private Sale, and the Freer Sackler Museum of Art., with the help of archived images at the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP), which had documented nine bronze sculptures in 1956.  

Australia

Over the past eight years, the NMMA recovered antiquities from various countries including Canada, Australia, and the UK. After the US, Australia yielded the most number of antiquities at 38. 

Tamil Nadu

In his reply during the Monsoon session of Parliament, Reddy said that 75 per cent of India’s stolen heritage had been returned under the Narendra Modi government. “Under the Mission, data of 16.83 Lakh antiquities and 1.84 Lakh built heritage and sites, including 9,998 in Maharashtra & 15,009 in Tamil Nadu, beneficial to the public including students, colleges, researchers, administrative personnel, etc. has been collected,” he added.

Earlier, in April this year, the Tamil Nadu idol wing told the Chennai High Court it had booked 49 idol theft cases, arrested 109 accused, and recovered 128 stolen idols since December 1, 2019. Of the recovered idols, 13 were repatriated from the United States, London, and Australia.

The NMMA was launched in 2007, by the ministry of culture, and is responsible for documentation and creation of a suitable database on built heritage and sites through a primary survey for information and dissemination to planners, researchers, etc., and for better management of such cultural resources.

Country	Antiquities recovered
Australia	38
Canada	2
Germany	1
Singapore	1
USA	178
UK	9
Total	229