Relics Linked to Buddha’s Auction Canceled – India Pushes for Repatriation

New Delhi: The auction of important relics linked to Lord Buddha, which was supposed to happen on May 7 at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, has been postponed, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture. Sotheby’s emailed the ministry on Tuesday to say that the auction is off for now and suggested they discuss the issue further. After this, the auction page was removed from their website.

In response, the Ministry of Culture is working with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) to have these relics returned to India. The artifacts were discovered in 1898 at the Piprahwa Stupa in Uttar Pradesh. They include pieces of Buddha’s bones, beautiful caskets made of soapstone and crystal, a sandstone box, and valuable gold ornaments. One of the caskets has an inscription in Brahmi script, showing the relics were placed there by the Sakya clan.

The Director General of ASI, Yadubir Singh Rawat, sent a letter to Hong Kong’s consulate on May 2, asking them to stop the auction immediately. During a meeting with UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy, Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat talked about the importance of these relics and the need to bring them back to India. A high-level meeting on May 5 set out further steps for engaging with embassies in the UK and Hong Kong.

The Indian government also sent a legal notice to Sotheby’s and Chris Peppé, a descendant of the British excavator William Claxton Peppé, explaining that selling these relics violates Indian laws and international agreements regarding Buddhist heritage. The notice demanded that the auction be canceled and the relics returned to India.

This notice claimed the relics are “inalienable religious and cultural heritage,” which means they cannot be taken away, and are protected under India’s Antiquities and Art Treasures Act (1972). While some of the relics were sent to a museum in Kolkata in 1899 and others were given to the King of Siam, some items remained mistakenly labeled as “duplicate jewels” and were kept by the Peppé family.

Sotheby’s acknowledged the legal notice on May 5 and said they would think about it and send a written reply later. The Ministry of Culture is getting help from various groups, including India’s representative to UNESCO and Buddhist organizations from India and Sri Lanka.