<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>RECLAIM INDIA’S STOLEN-TREASURES FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE</strong></span></p><p> </p><p><strong><u>The Loot of India’s Gods!</u></strong></p><p>The organized theft of India’s artistic heritage is perhaps the biggest scandal of modern India. According to experts, around 20,000 idols, sculptures and other antiquities have been stolen and sold in foreign countries since 1980 (this excludes colonial era loot). The estimated market value of these antiquities is over US$10 billion although many of these artifacts are priceless from a cultural or religious perspective. </p><p><strong><u>How India is looted</u></strong></p><p>It important to note that the systematic plunder of national treasures is not due to petty local thieves; but part of a well-oiled international network run by sophisticated criminal-organizations. They identify specific pieces, hack them from temples and forts, buy-off officials, smuggle across borders, use well-known auction houses and even have prominent art experts on their pay-rolls.</p><p><strong><u>The Bad News</u></strong></p><p>Most other countries have an aggressive policy to “demand their national-treasures back”. India does not! A damning CAG report from 2013 states that India had not recovered *even one* piece of stolen-heritage between 2001 & 2012.</p><p><strong><u>The Good News</u></strong></p><p>Citizen's initiatives like the India Pride Project (Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiaPrideProj">@IndiaPrideProj</a>) have begun to track down many of these national-treasures; and are building awareness about how India’s heritage has been looted. A handful of these stolen-treasures were personally handed back to Prime Minister Narenda Modi over the last year by the German and Australian premiers.</p><p>However, hundreds more remain in the hands of authorities in North America, Europe and Australia. Their repatriation has been delayed for years due to indifference and slow-paperwork on the Indian side.</p><p><strong>In short, our national-treasures languish in foreign lands, waiting to come back!</strong></p><p><strong>*** Ask the Government-of-India to Bring Our Gods Home! ***</strong></p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>For more details:</p><p><em>Watch this short video:</em> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq6b07Ln0Pc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq6b07Ln0Pc</a></p><p><em>What IS being done:</em> <a href="http://swarajyamag.com/culture/how-smuggled-indian-art-brought-home">http://swarajyamag.com/culture/how-smuggled-indian-art-brought-home</a></p><p><em>What NEEDS to be done: </em><a href="http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/india-must-start-working-to-reverse-plunder-of-our-national-artistic-heritage/">http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/india-must-start-working-to-reverse-plunder-of-our-national-artistic-heritage/</a></p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>Contact: <a href="mailto:buzz@ipp.org.in">buzz@ipp.org.in</a> Website: <a href="http://www.IPP.org.in">www.IPP.org.in</a> Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiaPrideProj">@IndiaPrideProj</a> </p><p>Tag on Twitter/Facebook with: <strong>#BOGH </strong>or <strong>#BringOurGodsHome</strong></p><p> </p>
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