What Does the US's New Import Law Mean for India's Cultural Heritage?

Time of India

4 days ago

In 2023, the 11th century Apsara that was stolen from Madhya Pradesh was returned to India by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
S Vijay Kumar
On July 28, the United States formally implemented import restrictions on a broad category of archaeological and ethnological materials from India, a landmark moment in the legal protection of India's cultural heritage.
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For one, it marks the long-awaited enforcement of the US-India Cultural Property Agreement. The bilateral agreement, signed in 2024 under Article 9 of the 1970 Unesco Convention, reflects years of advocacy, diplomacy and public interest mobilization. It restricts the import of archaeological materials dating from 1.7 million years ago through 1770 CE, including stone, metal, terracotta and paintings and ethnological material such as manuscripts, ceremonial objects and architectural elements produced through 1947.
The protections are set for a renewable five-year period, currently effective through July 26, 2029.
These import restrictions serve not only to stem the illicit market but also to signal shared ethical commitments between India and the United States. This MoU is a game changer as it allows US customs to proactively seize smuggled Indian antiquities without requiring case-by-case legal battles. It establishes a clear legal deterrent for US-based collectors, dealers and auction houses dealing in undocumented Indian artefacts.
It supports India's domestic enforcement by shifting the burden of proof to importers.
It creates a presumptive legal shield for future restitution claims, improving the pace and success of repatriation efforts. It aligns India with other culture-rich nations like Cambodia, Peru, and Egypt that benefit from similar agreements and encourages museum sector reform through compliance with international best practices in provenance research.
It sends a powerful diplomatic signal of India's commitment to safeguarding its heritage and seeking international accountability.
In May 2016, I wrote an op-ed in The Times of India calling for such an agreement. I had warned that without formal mechanisms such as an MoU, the US would remain a major destination for stolen Indian artefacts, protected by the shield of good-faith purchase doctrines and the absence of enforceable import restrictions.
I pointed to successful bilateral agreements the US had concluded with countries like Italy and Cambodia, and urged that India needed to catch up before more of its sacred heritage disappeared into private and institutional collections abroad.
Nowhere has this heritage loss been felt more acutely than in
Tamil Nadu
, a state that has borne the brunt of idol theft and temple looting. From the majestic bronzes of the Chola period to intricately carved stone deities, Tamil Nadu's cultural wealth has been disproportionately targeted by international trafficking networks.
In case after case — from the infamous Kapoor seizures to court-ordered restitutions in the United States and Australia — evidence has pointed to how artefacts from Tamil Nadu temples have been smuggled via fraudulent export documentation, transited through global art hubs, and sold to prominent museums and private collectors.
This MoU introduces, for the first time, clear legal guardrails in the largest art market in the world.
It will help ensure that any future attempts to export stolen bronzes or stone sculptures from Tamil Nadu to the US will be intercepted at the border. Furthermore, it creates a disincentive for laundering artefacts through restoration hubs or false provenance narratives, tactics that have historically enabled Tamil Nadu artefacts to lose their identity and re-emerge under Western ownership.
In numerous trafficking cases, stolen idols and sculptures have been routed through laundering and restoration hubs in the United Kingdom, where they were cosmetically altered and given new provenance papers.
From there, many were routed via transit ports in Hong Kong and Thailand that served as neutral logistics zones to mask their Indian origin. These artefacts would then enter the Western market with clean documentation, often falsely claimed to have been in private collections for decades.
The MoU closes critical gaps in this laundering chain by enabling US authorities to challenge and detain such imports on the basis of their material, typology and region of origin, even if paper documentation appears superficially legitimate.
It has taken almost a decade for that vision to be realized. The agreement now in force represents the culmination of years of civil society advocacy, diplomatic effort, and sustained public engagement.
This milestone would not have been possible without the steadfast efforts of the Cultural Antiquities Task Force, particularly the Antiquities Coalition. I would like to acknowledge Tess Davis and Helena Arose (of Antiquities Coalition) for their advocacy, policy engagement and commitment to cultural justice.
Their behind-the-scenes work was instrumental in making this agreement a reality.
But this MoU is not a panacea. It must be supported by transparent acquisition policies among US institutions, vigilance at Indian ports, and a legal framework for restitution. But it marks a turning point. From ad hoc repatriations to preventive protection, from lobbying to legally binding enforcement.
As someone who has worked closely with networks tracking the global trafficking of Indian antiquities, including the cases of Subhash Kapoor and Vaman Ghiya, I believe this agreement is a foundational pillar in India's evolving cultural diplomacy.
The idol may still be silent, but nearly 10 years after the call was made, the law now speaks on its behalf.
(The writer is co-founder of the India Pride Project, a citizen-led initiative to combat heritage crimes)
The smuggling kingpins
Indian-born US national Subhash Kapoor was convicted in 2022 for theft and illegal export of idols from the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district
In 2003, police raided the home of Vaman Ghiya in Jaipur and seized hundreds of photographs of sculptures that were reportedly stolen from temples. Ghiya, owner of a handicrafts shop, was charged with possessing and trafficking stolen cultural property