India and US set to simplify return of stolen antiquities: Report

According to the agreement, the US will offer the items back to India after the Cultural Property Agreement (CPA) has finalised, eliminating the need for India to provide proof that they belong to the country.

India and the US are on the route to strike an agreement that will simplify the process of returning stolen antiquities.

In the agreement, India will no longer have to prove that the items belong to it, instead, the US will offer it for return once the Cultural Property Agreement (CPA) comes through.

According to the agreement, the US will offer the items back to India after the Cultural Property Agreement (CPA) have checked everything, eliminating the need for India to provide proof that they belong to the country, as reported by The Indian Express,

"Following the deal, there will be import restrictions to stop stolen items to enter the US and will also benefit in legal sharing of such objects for scientific, cultural and educational purposes and to prevent illegal trafficking of cultural property from India to the US," according to the US Embassy in New Delhi.

Explaining the procedure, the US Embassy said, "When objects are seized and forfeited under import restrictions created by the Cultural Property Agreement (CPA), there is a simplified process for returning objects to the partner country. The partner country does not have to prove the item is theirs. Rather, the United States automatically offers it to them for return."

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in June this year, the two countries reached an understanding to work on the agreement.

Culture Secretary Govind Mohan said that the agreement will be into effect in a few months. "As per the agreement presently under way, the US will intercept smuggled goods at the border and return them expeditiously. Once it is implemented, the current process of repatriation will be simplified, and early return of antiquities will become possible," he told the publication.

As of today, India has to present documents, such as FIRs and photos, to explain the ownership of any artifacts that it may have in another country. According to an ASI official, the antiquities are to be verified by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) "on the basis of their knowledge, iconography, and wear-and-tear marks."

The US has returned more than 20,000 artifacts to more than 40 nations in the past 20 years. Among the artifacts were illuminated manuscripts, statues, sarcophagi, paintings, and coins.

Over the past four years, around 400 stolen or smuggled antiques from the US have been returned to India.