Australian Home Minister Tony Burke Pledges Australia Will Return Stolen Indian Artefacts
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who also holds the arts portfolio, has made one of the strongest public commitments yet to the repatriation of
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who also holds the arts portfolio, has made one of the strongest public commitments yet to the repatriation of stolen Indian cultural artefacts, declaring plainly that unlawfully held items in Australian institutions amount to theft and pledging his government will act on its own initiative rather than waiting for New Delhi’s requests. Speaking to NDTV’s Senior Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the return of several significant Indian artefacts during Narendra Modi’s July visit, Burke described the move as part of an ongoing, systemic obligation rather than a one-off diplomatic gesture.
“There’s two sorts of returns,” he explained — items Australia proactively identifies as unlawfully held in its own museums, and formal requests from origin countries. On the first category, he was unambiguous: “We shouldn’t be waiting for the requests. We need to be on the front foot organising the return.” Burke framed the principle in stark moral terms rarely heard from a serving minister on this issue. “There should be no country in the world that views theft as acceptable,” he said. “If you’ve got something that wasn’t lawfully required, keeping it is theft.” He cited a precedent from Australia’s own history to underline his point — a Shiva idol previously held by the Gallery of Australia that was returned once officials established the institution had no legitimate claim to it, calling the recent returns “the same” principle in action.
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