The artifacts, part of 200 stolen items being returned to India, were handed over at a ceremony attended by Modi, Lynch.
By Jayshal Sood
WASHINGTON, DC: A dozen stolen articles were returned to India here at a ceremony held on Monday, in the presence of visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.
These artifacts returned by the Department of Homeland Security were among some 200 artifacts identified as stolen from India and brought to the United States. They include a bronze Ganesha statue, a Jain figure of Bahubali, a Buddha idol and a female figurine.
“I am grateful to President Obama for returning to us these treasures which join us to our past,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted Modi as saying in a tweet.
“My gratitude to the US [government] for the sensitivity shown to India’s heritage,” Modi added, according to Swarup. “This will evoke great respect among the people of India.”
PM: My gratitude to the US Govt for the sensitivity shown to India's heritage. This will evoke great respect among the people of India
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) June 6, 2016
“Today we begin the process of returning more than 200 stolen cultural objects back to India,” Swarup quoted Lynch as saying.
Later on Monday evening, Indian Ambassador to US Arun K. Singh said at news conference that the return of the artifacts was a major boost to the cultural treasure of India.
“These are significant because some of them date back to a thousand years from the period of the Chola dynasty,” Singh said. “Some of them date back to more than 2,000 years — some terracotta pieces and others.”
ABC News reported that the statue of Saint Manikkavichavakar, a poet from the Chola era, that was stolen from Chennai’s Sivan Temple “is valued at an estimated $1.5 million.”
According to Indian officials, art dealer Subhash Kapoor was behind looting some of the artifacts. The New York-based Kapoor is currently awaiting trial in India.
Singh said the artifacts will now be repatriated to India.