India Pride Project: Getting back India’s lost artifacts

[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]W[/dropcap]hat makes a country come alive? What gives the people a sense of connect with their ancestors? What is it that any country should value above all else? Cultural heritage of a nation includes the artifacts handed down from one generation to the next as well as intangible attributes of a society. It is the duty as well as the responsibility of the present generation to protect and maintain such heritage, inherited from one’s ancestors, for the benefit of future generations.

Every country is identified by its culture. The heritage of a country is a source of its pride and one that gives its citizenry a reason to rejoice. History is not just a tale of the past but a tale that will shape the future of a civilization. Hence it is often said that ‘those who forget history are condemned to repeat it’. This not only refers to the mistakes of the past but also all the opportunities one’s ancestors let pass either due to oversight or simply because they didn’t deem it to be important. One who learns from his mistakes is smart but someone who learns from others’ mistakes is wise.

A country as vast and diverse as India would naturally have a rich cultural history. Add to the present boundaries of India the partitioned Pakistan, Bangladesh and modern day Afghanistan and we have a cultural past of epic proportions. Right from the Bamiyan Buddhas (6^th century Gandhara Art) to the bronze Nataraja statues of the Chola dynasty, we have a treasure trove of artifacts covering several centuries, dynasties, art forms and regions. The earliest artifact undoubtedly belongs to the Indus valley civilization (which has since been identified as the Saraswati basin civilization) and new discoveries are being made too.

One of downside of all this is of course the illegal smuggling of artifacts. There is huge money to be made by selling off these priceless pieces of ancient arts and since man’s greed knows no bounds most often these artifacts are vulnerable to theft. However, there is a ray of hope now. India Pride Project is a labour of love by a few dedicated individuals who have made it their life mission to get back India’s lost treasures.

Video link: http://www.bit.ly/IPPvideo

Read more about these detectives here: http://ipp.org.in/portfolio/who-are-we/

Project info: http://ipp.org.in/

Connect with them on Social Media:

Tag: #BringOurGodsHome

Handle: @anuraag_saxena @indiaprideproj

Additional links:

Petition at:          www.tiny.cc/bogh

Register at:         http://ipp.org.in/april/

It is the duty of every right thinking Indian citizen to have a sense of pride in his/her inherited culture and the collective responsibility of the society to get back what rightly belongs to us. Let’s join hands with these hardworking individuals and do our bit to reclaim our legacy.