News Analysis India

Tag: Oxford University

  • India Set To Get 500-Year-Old Bronze Idol Stolen Decades Ago; Details Here |

    The UK’s Oxford University has agreed to return a 500-year-old bronze idol of a saint believed to be stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu to India. “On 11 March 2024, the Council of the University of Oxford supported a claim from the Indian High Commission for the return of a 16th-century bronze sculpture of Saint Tirumankai Alvar from the Ashmolean Museum. This decision will now be submitted to the Charity Commission for approval,” said a statement from the university’s Ashmolean Museum.

    The 60 cm-tall statue of Saint Tirumankai Alvar was acquired by the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford from Sotheby’s auction house in 1967 from the collection of a collector named Dr JR Belmont (1886-1981). The museum says that it was alerted to the origins of the ancient statue by an independent researcher in November last year, following which it alerted the Indian High Commission. The Indian government made a formal request for the bronze idol believed to be stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu and found its way to a UK museum through auction. The museum, which holds some of the world’s most famous art and archaeology artefacts, says it acquired the statue in “good faith” in 1967. There have been several instances of stolen Indian artefacts being restored from the UK to India, most recently in August last year when a limestone carved relief sculpture, originating from Andhra Pradesh, and a “Navaneetha Krishna” bronze sculpture originating from 17th century Tamil Nadu, were handed over to the Indian High Commissioner to the UK following a joint US-UK investigation involving Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiques Unit.

  • Bullying of student at Oxford: Will take up racism issues with UK whenever required, assures Jaishankar

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India will take up with the UK when required the alleged incidents of racism in Britain, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

    He also described India as the land of Mahatma Gandhi and said it can never turn its eyes away from racism.

    Responding to concerns raised by a BJP MP over racism and cyberbullying that forced Indian-origin Rashmi Samant to resign as president of the Oxford University Students Union, the minister said New Delhi has strong ties with the UK and will take up such matters with great candour when required.

    “I note the sentiments of the House,” he said.

    “I do want to say that as a land of Mahatma Gandhi, we can never ever turn our eyes away from racism wherever it is. Particularly so when it is in a country where we have such a large diaspora,” he said.

    Samant, the first Indian woman to be elected as president of the Oxford University Students Union, was forced to resign within five days of her appointment over several of her social media posts that were labelled anti-Semitic and racist.

    BJP’s Ashwini Vaishnav said she was cyberbullied and her parent’s Hindu religious beliefs were publicly attacked by a faculty member.

    “As a friend of the UK, we also have concerns about its reputational impact,” Jaishankar said.

    “What I do want to say is that we have strong ties with the UK (and) we will take up such matters with great candour when required.”

    “We will monitor these developments very, very closely. We will raise it when required and we will always champion the fight against racism and other forms of intolerance,” he added.

    Raising the issue through a zero hour mention, Vaishnav said there appears to a continuation of attitudes and prejudices from the colonial era in the United Kingdom.

    Samant, a bright student from Udupi, Karnataka,overcame all challenges to become the first Indian women president of the union, he said.

    But “what was the treatment meted out to her?” he asked.

    “Shouldn’t this diversity been celebrated?” “Instead of that, she was cyberbullied to the point that she had to resign.

    Even the Hindu religious belief of her parents was publicly attacked by a faculty member, which went unpunished.

    If this happens at an institute like Oxford what is the message that goes out to the world,” he said.

    While she did issue a public apology for ‘unintentionally’ hurting anyone’s emotions, Samant believes she was unfairly targeted as a ‘conscious attempt’.

    Vaishnav also brought up Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle’s accusations of racism by UK royals.

    “A behaviour of a society is actually a reflection of its beliefs and value system. If such practices of racial discrimination are followed at the highest level in society what would be the following at the lower levels,” he asked.

    Stating that the two instances were not isolated, he said the treatment of migrants and their segregation in the UK on a racial basis is very well known all over the world.

    A recent report stated that the death rate among people of Asian origin because of COVID-19 is higher than the death rate in other communities in the UK, he said.

    “Doesn’t it raise a major question about equitable access to health and indeed the entire basic human rights issue?” He went on to state that India is a country with a large diaspora in the UK.

    “There is a natural concern for all of us. The era of colonialism is over but the mindset seems to be still persistent. This is where the UK has to change. If it wants our respect, it has to change,” he said, asking the External Affairs minister to take up the matter with the UK government.