India attempts to block sale of Buddhist religious relics

The jewels are delicate, some just millimetres in length, arranged in intricate patterns of circles and lines.

- ALI WATKINS

Taken from British-occupied India in 1898, the jewels were discovered alongside bone and ash, said to be the remains of Buddha. The collection is perhaps one of the holiest relics in contemporary religion.

Now it is up for sale, igniting a legal battle between the government of India and Sotheby's, the international auction house set to sell the religious treasures in an auction. The artifacts are being sold on behalf of the English descendants of the explorer who dug them up more than 120 years ago.

On Monday, the Indian Ministry of Culture issued a legal order, saying the relics should be returned to India for “preservation and religious veneration.” Sotheby's initially defended the sale but later announced that it would postpone the auction, originally scheduled to take place yesterday in Hong Kong. “This will allow for discussions between the parties,” it said in a statement.

The sale cuts to the heart of an uncomfortable question that has roiled post-imperial nations: How should priceless relics plundered generations ago from once-occupied territories be handled?