Two nations at the ends of Asia — India and Greece — are now bound by a common quest: to reclaim the soul of their civilizations. Both are demanding the return of treasures taken in the age of empire and still displayed in London’s marble halls. The Chola bronzes, the Amaravati sculptures, the Parthenon Marbles, all plundered, all praised, all imprisoned behind glass.
In New Delhi, curators, diplomats and civil society groups are pressing for the return of Ashokan relics and Chola bronzes that left India under imperial rule. Their campaign finds an echo in Athens, where Greece continues its long fight to recover the Parthenon Marbles. Both nations, heirs to ancient civilizations, face the same polite deflections from the same British institution.