Restoring Reverence

The return of the Piprahwa jewels to India is not merely an instance of repatriation; it is a quiet but momentous shift in the global understanding of cultural responsibility.

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These jewels, unearthed in 1898 from a stupa near the Buddha's birthplace and long held in private British hands, are believed to have once accompanied bone relics attributed to the Buddha himself. That they were almost sold at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong—having been marketed as rare artifacts instead of sacred heirlooms—should remind us how vulnerable heritage remains to commodification, even in the 21st century.

That India had to intervene diplomatically to prevent the sale of what are essentially spiritual relics speaks volumes about the ethical blind spots that still define large parts of the global antiquities trade. Auction houses often operate under legal cover but moral ambiguity.