“An estimated 1.64 million Chinese relics are owned by foreign museums. Even more than that are owned by private collectors. A great number were looted, stolen and smuggled out of China between the 1860s and 1949 when the country was subjected to colonial invasion and civil wars.
Because of the difficulties on the way to recovery of the stolen/ looted artifacts through diplomatic channels, or purchase them at a reasonable price is still the most practical way, however with the latest auctioned prices being rocket high, it is rapidly turning to be unpractical if not impossible…
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article5829613.ece
Put Vijay Mallya’s purchase of Gandhiji’s personal artefacts in that context
One can begin with the stash in London.
On loan for too long!
It has just come to light tht the auction was not a legal one!! It seems the goods didn’t belong to the owner in the first place to be auctioned, so now what happens to the whopping money paid by the beer magnate?:)
Dear shekhar,
Its a subject which deserve serious study. Thanks for writing this blog post.
Regards……..Vaishak…..
The problem with Indians is that they have a tendency to over react to anything and everything. I found it rather foolish when the Gandhian items were restored to its land and it became a hot-button issue. What huge money was spent when there are millions of people in our land who do not have a square meal a day. Why is this enthusiasm lacking when it comes to following the Gandhian principles? If Gandhi was alive, he would have condemned it.
Dear Shekhar,
The west would love to sell Mahatma’s excreta as relics if they could, given the recession-turning-depression.
We all know who’ll buy it in millions while people don’t have enough to eat.
Mallya could have done better to give away ten thousand jobs to poor educated youth here in India for a year with those 10 million $.The Mahatma would have smiled blessingly from heavens.But then who would have known…(But wait…he could have called it ‘Mahatma rojgaar yojana’ by Vijay Mallya and tipped a journo…but c’mon we are all here to live in the moment no…fuck goodness and long-term perspective.)
regards,
harijim
For some of the best experiences of soaking in a Museum of Asian Art/History/Archeology featuring some of the best and priced collections, one has to head out of Asia and to its West! What an irony. Each time I came out of one such Museum, I wondered how a world would be where the West had to go Eastward bound to savor the glory that was once their own. Then would pat myself on the head to recognize that the eastern civilization was inherently not a colonizing/looting one…and therefore the idea of showcasing a “loot” could only exist as a figment of my imagination.
Hope there are lessons learnt to protect and preserve our existing tangible and intangible heritages.
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Dear Shekhar,
I find it extremely useful to have your listen in daily blogs and shared that among us. I would like to congratulate for your ongoing venture for PANNi. On the similar background I think, issues of Land is also a most pressing issues and I have a real story based on the land regularization, human conflicts and climate change. Its a need of an hour to work on global issues and make people talk about our problems which seemingly unrelated with individuals but in collective terms, yes it affects at large. I need a chance to work or shared this story and let people know the importance of land to lives of many which sometimes expressed in the movies like “Do Bhiga Jameen”, and “The Grapes Of Wrath”. But this one is different in the sense of revitalize and measuring the social value of land then and now! I am 27, work in Development issues and have extensive traveling experience in Sub Saharan Africs, Latin America and North Pacific. I hope to listen some feedback from you. Many Thanks and good luck.