Exploring India’s National Treasures: The Significance of Museums in Preserving the Country’s Rich Antiquity
The Unfortunate Tale of a Nation’s Treasure
Although there have been museums in India since time immemorial, these institutions were only recently acknowledged as centers of cultural importance and a source of educational information. There are already more than 700 museums in India that house priceless artifacts with significant cultural value.
These collections, however, lack adequate documentation, making them susceptible to theft or culture trafficking. An example is the recent instance of the dancing Shiva Chola bronze, which was stolen, smuggled out of India, and sold to the National Gallery of Australia. India verified the statue’s provenance, and the statue has since been returned after India requested the Australian Government.
In one of the biggest transfers ever, the US returned 248 pieces valued at $15 million in 2021. This is a worldwide trend that has unfortunately been prevalent for centuries now. This type of illegal antiquities trade may be worth $6 billion annually. One can find this in the realms of the Italian cathedrals to the Mali cemeteries.
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The operation is handled by a well-oiled syndicate and is a very successful illegal business. And over the years, even a country like India has had several different kingpins running the show.
However, the Rajasthan courts exonerated him in 2014 after ruling that the probe was poorly conducted. On the other side, Kapoor was recently given a 10-year prison term by a Chennai court. He may also potentially face a court trial in the US for certain allegations against him. But what are we doing to stop the looting of our national treasures while these traffickers run amok?
The Status Quo
As per India’s legislation in this regard, heritage theft is grouped with housebreaking theft, according to historian Shalini Mathur. The maximum penalty of 6 years in prison and a fine is therefore not severe enough to effectively discourage people from getting involved in such acts that we have been talking about.
Even the correct documentation of our artifacts is missing. You see, even though India established a National Mission for Monument and Antiquities to track these priceless items, it was unsuccessful in its efforts.
Although estimates place the number of antiquities in the nation above 6 million, only 1.7 million of them have been precisely cataloged. As a result, India could be unaware of the various thefts happening across the country’s borders. Thus, there is nobody to even lodge a complaint or even acknowledge that something went missing.
Since illicit art crosses borders so seamlessly, things get even more difficult. In certain cases, buyers are just as guilty of participating in this sinister conduct.
Only 486 antiques have been reported missing since independence, according to research done by the Indian Express. However, according to UNESCO, up to 1989, more than 50,000 artifacts were removed from the country. Additionally, a survey conducted by an Indian organization found that between 1992 and 2017, nearly 4,500 things were taken from our monuments.
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What is further baffling is that there aren’t many regulations on the world’s “art” industry. There isn’t someone keeping a close check on things. And as a result, goods worth $6 billion are smuggled.
The Economic Impact On India If She Gets Her Antiquities Back
One could anticipate that tourism would have a major influence. And the fact that there will be rapid growth in the number of visitors to such museums to view the cultural artifacts and that it’ll result in local employment creation in the area, where stores and eateries may open up. But the issue is that nobody is going to museums in India.
Government-run museums only saw a combined 100,000 visitors in 2015. And considering that there are about 800 museums in the nation, that only amounts to 80 million visitors. in a nation of 1.4 billion people.
And to be completely honest, museums are to fault. And most likely with the government as well. A legislative committee’s report from 2011 made note of the poor condition of Indian museums. For instance, New Delhi’s well-known National Museum contains 26 galleries. However, 7 of these were shut down for a duration of 3 to 4 years.
And from 2003 to 2011, the Manuscript Gallery was shut down too which was attributed to inadequate management alone. Additionally, only 10% of the artifacts are displayed. To make things more exciting and interesting for tourists, they aren’t even modified in any way.
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Know that the Ministry of Culture receives less than 0.1% of the total budget which certainly seems like a paltry allocation. But consider this – even with the few funds it has, the Ministry has not managed its spending. In reality, a 2018 story in The Hindu claimed that more than Rs. 2,000 crores had been set aside since the 1980s but had not been used at all.
Conclusion
To acknowledge that India’s stolen artifacts must be returned is only the beginning. As a nation, it must also make sure that they are given an honorable mention in its museums. Then, simultaneously, the museums deserve to be promoted in full force to both domestic and international visitors. The only way museums can continue to operate profitably and preserve the nation’s cultural history is in this way.
