New York, July 18 (IANS) – In a significant development following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington, India has successfully received a batch of 105 stolen antiques that were recovered by US officials. The repatriation ceremony took place at India’s Consulate General in New York, where India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, expressed deep emotion and emphasised the cultural, religious, and heritage significance of these recovered treasures.
Prime Minister Modi had previously highlighted the issue during a meeting with the diaspora in Washington, stating that the American government had agreed to return over 100 antiquities that were stolen from India and had reached international markets. Expressing gratitude towards the US government for the repatriation, Prime Minister Modi reiterated the historical theft of priceless artefacts that held cultural and religious importance for India.
Out of the 105 returned antiques, around 50 are of religious significance to Hindus, Jains, and Muslims, while the remainder hold cultural value. Shockingly, some of these precious items were looted from temples, where they were once objects of reverence.
The smuggling operation involved Subash Kapoor, a convicted antiques smuggler, who ran a multinational trafficking syndicate from his gallery, Art of the Past, on Madison Avenue in New York. Jordan Stockdale from the Manhattan prosecutor’s office expressed his excitement in returning these priceless treasures to India. He also acknowledged Prime Minister Modi’s appreciation and highlighted the successful collaboration between India and the US in recovering thousands of Indian antiquities.
The efforts to repatriate stolen Indian artefacts are part of the ongoing saga surrounding Subash Kapoor’s criminal activities. In 2021, the Manhattan prosecutor’s office returned 248 antiques valued at $15 million, and in October, another batch of 307 items valued at approximately $4 million was repatriated. Kapoor, who was extradited from Germany to India and is currently awaiting extradition to the US, was sentenced to a 10-year prison term by a court in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, for stealing statues from temples.
According to Stockdale, more than 2,500 artefacts with a total value of over $145 million have been seized in connection with the case. He expects additional repatriations of stolen items to India in the future.
The international operation to dismantle Kapoor’s trafficking network, known as Operation Hidden Idol, involved several countries, including India, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Kapoor’s illicit business ensnared numerous museums and collectors, prompting several institutions to return stolen artefacts to India.
Museums in Honolulu, Hawaii; Salem, Massachusetts; Toledo, Ohio; Birmingham, Alabama; and Gainesville, Florida, began returning art and antiques identified as stolen from India starting in 2014. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Norton Simon Museum, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the David Owsley Museum of Art in Muncie, Indiana, were among the institutions that acknowledged possessing artworks acquired from Kapoor.
Australia also repatriated an Ardhanarishvara statue acquired from Kapoor to India in 2015, and its National Art Gallery announced in 2021 that it would return 14 additional artefacts.
The repatriation of these stolen antiques is a significant step toward preserving and reclaiming India’s rich cultural heritage. The collaboration between India and the US in combatting the illegal trade of antiquities serves as a powerful example of international cooperation in protecting and restoring cultural treasures to their rightful place.
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