[ Yahoo! News ] Oxford University to return 500-year-old sculpture of Hindu saint to India

Oxford University has decided to return a 500-year-old bronze sculpture of the Hindu saint, Tirumankai Alvar, to India. The statue had been on display at the Ashmolean Museum and is believed to have been looted from an Indian temple. The decision to return the statue was supported by the University Council and will be submitted to the Charity Commission for approval.

In other related news, the Koh-i-noor diamond, one of the world’s largest cut gems, remains a point of contention. Seized by the East India Company in the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1849, it was given to Queen Victoria and has been part of the crown jewels ever since. Several countries, including India, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, have claimed ownership of the diamond and demanded its return since India’s independence in 1947.

In 2022, Oxford and Cambridge universities announced they could return collections of the Benin bronzes to Nigeria, following a request. These artifacts were looted by British colonial forces in 1897.

Lastly, a dispute arose last year between UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the return of the Parthenon marbles. Greece has been campaigning for the return of these artifacts, claiming they were illegally acquired during a period of foreign occupation.

Source: Conversation with Copilot
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