Britain is then and there dogged by the issue of colonial-era loot and its moral obligation to return the symbols of heritage to the colonies from where they were either acquired or stolen or got as gifts from the rulers. As far as India is concerned, it is impossible for them to return all the 25000 Indian artifacts, idols, jewelry, etc., stashed away by the British government in various museums in London.
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| Queen Elizabeth with all the loots from the former colonies. dailyo.in |
Thousands of unique and rare historical items impressively on display in British museum, Victoria and Albert museum and Pitt museum are symbolic of British empire's past glory and dominance; the underlying truth is they were all systematically looted and plundered by the British as war spoils. A good example is the ones plundered from the palace of Tipu Sultan upon his death in 1799 at Srirangapatna.
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| timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ |
Ever since the British Museum was founded in 1753, the British diligently had used it as a den of stolen goods some thing like Chor bazaar that one may find in a few Indian cities; an easy way to stash away colonial loot. Countless loots from countries like Ethiopia, Egypt, etc., were taken away by the British colonists under unethical circumstances bordering on immorality.
For the Indian tourists to such British museums viewing the objects of veneration - mostly Hindu or Buddhist gods dating back to centuries caged in shining glass cages is a painful experience. These holy objects taken from the temples would have undergone various worship rituals associated with the temple and now they have become objects of curios among the visitors, particularly Europeans.
The “past is in the past” narrative might seem very tempting to the Brits, but it just doesn’t cut ice any more. Sure, you are not responsible for the actions of your ancestors. Sure, you can’t undo colonial-era oppression. Sure, you can’t reverse the effects of cultural-cleansing, where Britain wiped out the collective memories and cultures of people it oppressed. Sure, there’s no way you could bring back millions of indigenous peoples that gave their lives for freedom.
''To the victor, the spoils may once have been the approach of of imperialists and military adventurers, but it can’t be the basis on which major international institutions justify thei holdings and collections,” said British historian and former BBC Delhi correspondent Andrew Whitehead. ref: timesofindia.indiaties.com
The following are stolen items from the Indian subcontinent by the greedy east India company officials:
01. Wine Cup of Shah Jahan:
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| Wine cup Mogul ruler Shah Jahan's theemergingindia.com |
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Wine Cup of Shah Jahanindiatimes.com |
It is said to have been made in the mogul workshops in the seventeenth century. The lobed, scalloped-shape is very much similar to sea shells, such as scallops.
The cup displays lotus flower, acanthus leaves and goat's head as handle. In the 19th century Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie acquired the wine cup soon after the 1857 great rebellion and sent to Britain. It chanded several hands and since 1962 it has been with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
The present drinking cup was used for wine or opium dissolved in wine mixed with spices (known as kawa). This practice was in vogue during that period practice and prior to that time by their Timurid ancestors.
000
02. Huge Buddha metal statue:
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| Buddha metal statue. india-tours.com/blog |
Above image: The sculpture of Sultanganj Buddha is around 2m tall and the weight is around 500 kg. This sculpture of Buddha is one of the huge Indian metal statues. This sculpture was found by E.B.Harris (A British railway engineer) during railway construction in 1862. The current location of this sculpture is the Birmingham museum.
000
03. Nassak diamond looted from the Hindu temple:
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| Nassak diamond en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: In the year 1818, in the Anglo-Maratha war, the British East India Company took this diamond and later traded it to British Jewelers. Often called the Eye of an idol he Nassak Diamond (also known as the Nassak Diamond and the Eye of an Idol it is a large diamond weighing 43.38 carats (8.676 g) ; originally it weighed 89 carat, it was adoring the the eye of the main idol in Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, near Nashik, Maharashtra. Mined from the Kollur mines in present Andhra at least 1500 to 1817, the British East India Company acquired the diamond during the the Third Anglo-Maratha War and sold it to British jewelers Rundell and Bridge in 1818. The jeweler recut the diamond in 1818, after which it made its way into the handle of the 1st Marquess of Westminster's dress sword. present value is roughly
000
04. Marble Sarasvati's statue:
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| Saraswati statue britishmuseum.org |
Above image: This nicely carved marble statue of the goddess of wisdom Saraswati in on display in the British museum. Engraved in the year 1034 Ad this rare statue was part of Bhojshala Temple in the state of Madhya Pradesh from where it was taken. It was reported lost, but was finally found in the British Museum. The inscription on the sculpture mentions king Bhoja and Vāgdevī, another name for Sarasvatī. Iconoclasts who studied it suggested that it could be goddess Ambika. King Bhoja, who ruled between circa 1000 and 1055 was a patron of art. Hindu scholars are of the view that numerous Sanskrit works on philosophy, astronomy, grammar medicine, yoga, architecture and other subjects were encouraged by King Bhoja, a scholarly person...............................
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| Amaravathi, sculptures rediff.com |
A two-sided limestone relief from the Great Shrine at Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh, carved first in the 1st century BC (featuring the Buddha as an empty throne), and then turned over and carved in the 3rd century AD (featuring a corporal Buddha standing in front of the shrine). Photograph: With kind permission courtesy © The Trustees of the British Museum. As far as the artifacts from Amaravati are concerned, the full credit goes to Col. Walter Elliot KCSI of EIC who painstakingly had them curated, preserved and brought to light the ancient Buddhist artifacts. So, you can not classify them as loots.
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| Stone statue of Nandi (bull, mount of god Shiva) rediff.com |
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| Shiva and his consort Parvati. rediff.com |
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| bronze idol dancing Shiva (Nataraja), rediff.com |
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| Standing Vishnu as Keshava,rediff.com |
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| sandstone Harihara circa 1000.rediff.com |
Above image: This sandstone Harihara circa 1000 was once situated perhaps in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh before it reached Major General Charles Stuart's collection. Photograph: With kind permission courtesy British Museum. representing both Vishnu and Shiva.
https://www.rediff.com/news/special/why-the-british-museum-wont-return-the-harihara/20180718.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhojshala
http://www.theemergingindia.com/valuable-things-the-british-stole-from-india-and-the-world/
https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/valuable-things-stolen-by-the-british-546394.html pdated on Aug 03, 2021, 17:48 IST
https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedstatesofindia/comments/shuyn1/tipu_sultans_magic_box/
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