New Delhi/Mumbai 1 st August 2025 (TGN )– In a landmark moment for India’s cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture has successfully repatriated the sacred Piprahwa Buddha relics, widely believed to be associated with the mortal remains of Lord Buddha, back to India after 127 years. Valued at several million dollars, the relics were recently discovered at an auction in Hong Kong, where they risked being acquired by private collectors.
Thanks to a swift and coordinated intervention by the Ministry of Culture, with support from the Godrej Industries Group, the auction was halted and the artefacts were brought back to Indian soil.
The relics were originally unearthed in 1898 by British civil engineer William Claxton Peppé at Piprahwa, in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Believed to have been enshrined by the Buddha’s followers around the 3rd century BCE, they are of immense spiritual importance to the global Buddhist community and are counted among the most significant archaeological finds in India.
Union Minister for Culture, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, described the return as a proud milestone, stating, “This is one of the most significant instances of repatriation of our lost heritage and would not have been possible without the vision and initiative of our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.”
Prime Minister Modi also shared his sentiments on social media platform X, posting: “A joyous day for our cultural heritage! It would make every Indian proud that the sacred Piprahwa relics of Bhagwan Buddha have come home after 127 long years… It also illustrates our commitment to preserving and protecting different aspects of our glorious culture.”
The relics will be ceremonially unveiled and placed on public display in the coming weeks. Since 2016, India has secured the return of 578 artefacts from the United States alone, through the efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Culture. Working in close coordination with Indian Missions and Embassies abroad, along with the Archaeological Survey of India, these ministries continue to lead the effort to retrieve invaluable fragments of India’s ancient heritage.
