Gujarat National Law University partners with ASI to hold exhibition
In Picture, Gujarat National Law University (File Photo) In Picture, Gujarat National Law University (File Photo)
IN A first, to mark the occasion of World Heritage Day, the Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) has partnered with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to hold a month-long exhibition on the retrieved antiquities of India from abroad.
The 29 photographs of retrieved antiquities at the photo-exhibition will also include the photograph and details of a 12th century marble sculpture of Brahma and his consort Brahmani (Brahma- Brahmani) stolen from Gujarat in 2001 from Rani Ki Vav in Patan district in 2001, which is currently in the possession of the Indian Consulate in London.
The statue had reportedly been stolen from the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Rani-ki-Vav in Patan in Gujarat and had resurfaced in London in 2015. Richa Sharma, convener, Legal History Museum Council at GNLU, said the events mark the coming together of history and law and a one-day workshop on ‘Heritage Law: Prevention of Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property’ will also be held.
“The photographs of these 29 objects sent abroad by illegal means and retrieved and brought back by the Indian government include the photo of Brahma Brahmani sculpture that was stolen from the Rani Ki Vav in Patan in 2001,” said Arun Malik, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Vadodara Circle. The exhibition and workshop at GNLU will be inaugurated by the Gujarat Sports and Culture Minister Rajendrabhai Trivedi, and other dignitaries from ASI.
Sharma added, “Due to heavy demand in the international antique market, many heritage antiquities are stolen and illegally exported and sold. Many Indian antiquities have surfaced in the foreign land, retrieved by ASI and later given to the Indian Mission of the concerned country.
After careful examination and verification, the Indian Government recently retrieved nearly 32 antiquities through negotiation, voluntary return, court cases or through application under the UNESCO Convention, 1970 in last two years, which would be of interest and pride to people.
“The preservation of historical structures movable and immovable are the responsibility of the Government and civic society at large to sustain the cultural heritage for present and future generation of India,” he said.
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