Oxford University to return bronze sculpture of Hindu saint

The University of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum said the university has agreed to return a 500-year-old bronze sculpture of a Hindu poet and saint to India, reports the Associated Press. The Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom made a claim four years ago for the bronze figure of Tirumankai Alvar that was allegedly looted from a temple.

Vijay Kumar, co-founder of India Pride Project, which seeks to reclaim stolen religious artifacts, said worshippers have something to cheer. “We saw COVID delays and procedural drama between British and Indian authorities on what should have been an open and shut case,” Kumar told The Times of India. “But we have been voicing our opinions on social media and we are almost there.”

The planned repatriation comes amid a push by foreign governments, including Nigeria, Egypt and Greece, as well as Indigenous peoples from North America to Australia, seeking to reclaim precious antiquities looted or acquired by questionable means during the heyday of the British Empire.
Full report on the ABC News site