Nevada, 6 August 2012
In an effort to restore originally stolen works to their rightful temples, Hindus are encouraging art institutions to reexamine their Hindu art acquisitions and all associated provenance documentation and to respectfully return any artifacts which prove to be stolen.
In response to recent media reports, which find major art institutions guilty of international trafficking of Hindu antiquities, Hindu statesman and President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, explained that when art institutions go about acquiring new works, they need to adhere to the principles of the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import and Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
In a statement in Nevada, 5 August, Zed said “devotees had been worshipping these images of Hindu deities for centuries and the world should respect their feelings by returning these to their original homes before these were stolen for mercantile greed”.