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Australia’s Canberra Gallery has said that the Indian artefacts will be returned within a few months.
Australia has decided to return 14 artworks to India. Of these, 6 are either stolen or illegally exported. Australia’s Canberra Art Gallery has identified artworks that have either been stolen from India, looted or whose existence is not known. These include sculptures, photographs and a scroll.
Artifacts may come to India in a month or two
The collection coming from Australia is of religious and cultural artifacts. His worth is $ 2.2 million (Rs 16.34 crore). Canberra Gallery director Nick Mitjevich has said that these artworks will be returned to the Indian government in a few months. We have resolved to close a very difficult chapter in our history.
Some of the artifacts that Australia has decided to return date back to the 12th century.
Of the 14 artworks that Australia is due to return, 13 are linked to international trafficker Subhash Kapoor. Subhash Kapoor is accused of Operation Hiddle Idol (Idol Smuggling) in America. The trial against Kapoor is about to start in this case. However, he has denied the allegations. Kapoor was arrested in this case in 2011.
The National Gallery of Australia has already returned many Indian artifacts acquired through Subhash Kapoor. These include a bronze statue of Lord Shiva worth Rs 27 crore which was stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu.
The Canberra Gallery director says he created the guidelines to assess the legal and ethical issues associated with his collection. On this basis, 3 sculptures included in the collection related to Asia are also being investigated.
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