The Indian government has revealed that up to 31 antiquities might have been stolen in the last decade, of which only 4 have been recovered.
The revelation was made by G. Kishan Reddy (Union Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Development of North Eastern Region) during India’s parliamentary session. He was responding to Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, a Member of Parliament (MP) from the regional DMK party, who asked about the measures taken by the government against the theft of temple idols.
Reddy stated that up to 31 antiquities could possibly have been looted from Indian museums and heritage sites in the last decade. Of these, only four have been recovered in the following years. The objects have been looted from Indian states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Orissa. Among these, Karnataka alone saw the theft of 14 antiquities; only one has been recovered since being stolen. However, Reddy also revealed that between 1973 and 2023, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recovered a total of 251 antiquities from foreign nations and entities. He claimed that “95 percent” of these antiquities were recovered in the last 9 years (since current Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power).
Answering the second part of the question, Reddy detailed the security measures against theft prevention: “Whenever any theft of antiquity is reported, an FIR [First Information Report] is lodged in the concerned police station and ‘Look Out Notice’ is issued to law enforcement agencies including Custom Exit Channels to keep vigil to trace stolen antiquity and prevent its illegal export”. However, he also admitted that India currently has no arrangement with any international museum for the return of stolen items.
