Over the last 8 years the Government has brought back 228 heritage objects

Ten antiquities retrieved from Australia and the US, five each from the two countries, were handed over to the Government of Tamil Nadu in New Delhi on Wednesday. These have been retrieved over the past year.

The collection of antiquities handed over to the Tamil Nadu government included figurines named Dwarapala, Nataraja, Kankalamurti Kadayam, Nadikeswara Kadayam, Four-Armed Vishnu, Sri Devi, Siva & Parvati, Standing Child Sambandar, and Child Sambandar, said the Ministry of Culture.

They were handed over at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) in the presence of Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Kishan Reddy and Ministers of State Meenakshi Lekhi, Arjun Meghwal, and L Murugan.

During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US, 157 antiquities were returned to India which is being the largest single collection India got back so far, Reddy pointed out.

"You would be aware that over the last 8 years the Government has brought back 228 heritage objects. Only 13 antiquities were brought back to India between Independence and 2013. With the sustained effort of the Government of India, and 228 antiquities being brought back since 2014, the total number has now become 241," he added.