#BringOurGodsHome: Political mobilization and civic engagement in reclaiming India’s stolen cultural heritage“

Abstract

India is currently engaged in a concerted effort to bring back artifacts that were illegally exported or traded from the country, aiming to reclaim and preserve its cultural heritage by actively campaigning for the repatriation of those historical pieces. This includes working with other nations to recover stolen antiquities, often sacred icons once in worship. On July 26, 2024, delegates from the U.S. and Indian governments in New Delhi signed the first-ever bilateral Cultural Property Agreement to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural artifacts and to simplify the process of restitution. Four months later, the U.S. returned 1400 objects worth $10 million found in storage units, auction houses, art galleries, museum spaces, and private collections after being smuggled out of India. The efforts of India Pride Project (IPP) played a vital role. This paper examines this network of amateur art sleuths who—driven by citizen activism—collaborate with international agencies, law enforcement, and Indian authorities to facilitate the return of items taken from India’s temples, archaeological sites, and museums. Like the Indian government, IPP engages in what I call ‘heritage as place of making’: bringing back the cultural heritage stolen from their place of making (India) has become crucial to contemporary (Indian) cultural and political identity. Seeking the repatriation of these artifacts is now a key element in India’s foreign policy and the restoration of India’s pride.