Andhra Pradesh people want relics back

A Facebook page titled “Bring back Amaravati Silpalu” has also been created to spread awareness among the public about Amaravati’s artefacts that had been shifted out over centuries.

Ancient Buddhist inscriptions and artefacts were shifted to the British Museum, Chennai Museum and other places, which the people now want to be brought back to the new capital.

As many as 120 monuments found in Amaravati were shifted to London by the British rulers. According to historian N. Vijaykumar, Colin Mackenzie and Benjamin Sadan Holmes had started excavation in the Buddhist stupa of Amaravati and had shifted valuable artefacts to London.

In 1845, an East India Company team, led by Sir Walter Eliot, had restarted excavations. They had found Buddhist inscriptions and idols that were shifted to London, Kolkata and Chennai.

Amaravati Development Authority chairman Jasti Veeranjaneyulu said that the ancient Buddhist monuments and inscriptions were housed in British Museum in the Amaravati gallery. He lamented that no one had tried to reclaim these valuable artefacts in the past few decades and the British government was thus reluctant to return these valuable artefacts, which reflect our ancient heritage and culture.

He added that as the AP government had named the new capital Amaravati, the monuments should be brought back and kept in the museum at Amaravati. Retired archaeologist Kadiyala Venkateswara Rao said that some relics of Buddha found in Amaravati were shifted to the AP state museum in Hyderabad due to the absence of preservation and protection facilities in the Archaeology department years ago.

He said that now the AP government should bring back all the monuments and inscriptions from London, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata museums to Amaravati. He added that there was a big, two-storied museum at Amaravati and the government should develop the same with the valuable Buddhist artefacts.