• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Manifest Learning Academy
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home History

Natesa Idol of Rajasthan Temple

July 31, 2020
in History
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Natesa Idol of Rajasthan Temple
215
VIEWS
Share on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on Facebook
image_pdfMake PDF

A long-pending case of idol theft finally saw an important development as Natesa, a rare sandstone idol in the 9th century Prathihara style of Rajasthan, is returning to the country after 22 years.

Natesa Idol

The Natesa icon, currently at the Indian High Commission, London, was originally from the Ghateswara Temple, Baroli, Rajasthan. Stolen in 1998, the icon has had a tortuous journey to the present. The suspected thieves had replaced it with a fake and smuggled the original out of the country. Eventually, a London collector J. Kasmin, who had possession of it in 2003, handed it over to the Indian High Commission at the time.

The sandstone Natesa figure stands tall at almost 4 ft. in a rare and brilliant depiction of Shiva in the late 9th century Prathihara style of Rajasthan. A beautiful depiction of Nandi is shown behind the right leg of the Natesa icon. 

Based on an expose by Peter Watson in the book and the BBC programme titled Sotheby’s: The Inside Story (1997), the Rajasthan Police opened an investigation into one Vaman Ghiya’s Operation Blackhole. Ghiya was arrested in 2003, standing accused of having stolen 20,000 pieces of art and laundering them via a host of Swiss front companies and Sotheby’s, the international auction house. Ghiya was convicted in a trial court but eventually acquitted in 2014 by the Rajasthan High Court, partially because India had not repatriated even a single piece of art allegedly smuggled abroad by Ghiya.

In 1998, Kirit Mankodi, a retired archaeologist, was instrumental in the case and provided documents and photographs to prove that the idol in India was fake. A few archaeologists and enthusiasts behind the ‘India Pride Project’ have also taken consistent efforts for the restitution of the Natesa icon. The ASI and the Ministry of Culture should also use this restitution as a much-needed impetus to reopen the Vaman Ghiya case, resurrect Operation Blackhole, go after thousands of artefacts stolen since the 1960s by the Vaman Ghiya gang, and also appeal against his acquittal.

[India Pride Project (IPP) is a group of art enthusiasts who uses social media to identify stolen religious artefacts from Indian temples and secure their return. Co-founded in 2014 by two Singapore-based art enthusiasts, S. Vijay Kumar and Anuraag Saxena, it now has activists from all over the world].

image_pdfMake PDF
Source: The Hindu
Tags: Prelims

Related Posts

Centenary of Vaikom Satyagraha

Centenary of Vaikom Satyagraha

March 22, 2023
Matua Maha Mela

Matua Maha Mela

March 21, 2023
Bumchu festival of Sikkim

Bumchu festival of Sikkim

March 17, 2023
Bobbili Veena

Bobbili Veena

March 16, 2023
Indian, International laws on Antiquities

Indian, International laws on Antiquities

March 14, 2023
Attukal Pongala

Attukal Pongala

March 9, 2023
A hidden corridor discovered near 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza

A hidden corridor discovered near 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza

March 4, 2023
Sisupalgarh- a fortified historic city is in danger

Sisupalgarh- a fortified historic city is in danger

March 4, 2023
13th century temple built by Kayasthas unearthed

13th century temple built by Kayasthas unearthed

March 3, 2023
1,300-yr-old Buddhist Stupa discovered in Odisha

1,300-yr-old Buddhist Stupa discovered in Odisha

March 3, 2023
Please login to join discussion

Our Offline Classroom Student

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2021 TOPPERS !!!

Rank 171 Kumar Shivashish
Rank 250 Sahithya
Rank 263 Sumit Kumar Thakur
Rank 311 Deepak Ramachandra Shet
Rank 455 Ravinandan B M

March 2023
MTWTFSS
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031 
« Feb    

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

AIR All India Radio BBC Business Line Business Standard dow Down to Earth DownToEarth DTE Economic Times ET FAO Financial Express GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express Indiatoday India today Kurukshetra Livelihoods portal LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The India Express The Indian Express The Print the wire Times of India TOI TOPPERS Yojana
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tag

AIR All India Radio BBC Business Line Business Standard dow Down to Earth DownToEarth DTE Economic Times ET FAO Financial Express GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express Indiatoday India today Kurukshetra Livelihoods portal LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The India Express The Indian Express The Print the wire Times of India TOI TOPPERS Yojana

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • SNIPPETS
  • ARTICLES
  • BROWSE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In