ANNAPURNA IDOL
- December 1, 2020
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Subject: Culture
Context: Prime Minister announced that an ancient idol of the goddess Annapurna, stolen from India about a century ago, is being brought back from Canada.
Concept:
- This idol was stolen from a temple of Varanasi and smuggled out of the country around 100 years ago somewhere around 1913.
- Annapurna, also spelt Annapoorna, is the goddess of food. The 18th-century idol, carved in the Benares style, is part of the University of Regina, Canada’s collection at the MacKenzie Art Gallery.
- A few weeks ago, Union Culture Minister Prahlad Patel handed over 13th-century bronze idols of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and goddess Sita, which were repatriated from the UK recently, to the Tamil Nadu government.
- Between 2014 and 2020, the government has been able to retrieve 40 antiquities from various countries; between 1976 and 2014, as per ASI records, 13 antique pieces had been repatriated to India.