The ownership of Gandhara art

There are no easy answers to this issue. According to a press report, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has approached the federal government asking for the return of some 3,150 Gandhara era artifacts housed in Islamabad, Taxila, Lahore and Karachi museums. These Buddhist antiquities with Greco-Roman influences are an important cultural heritage. The KP Department for Culture Archaeology and Museums has written a letter to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination with this demand as part of its efforts "to implement the vision of the Prime Minister in promoting tourism and developing cultural and archaeological assets."

It may have a point considering that thousands of Gandhara antiquities on display or stored in major national museums, dating back to the first century BCE and the 7th century CE, were excavated from the Peshawar Valley. The awe-inspiring second century CE starving Buddha statue, discovered in Sikri in Mardan district of KP, has been the most prized possession of the Lahore Museum since 1894. According to experts, no other statue of Buddha comes close to it in its elegance and magnificence, eliciting requests for exhibitions abroad. Many of these antiquities, though, were found in Taxila (now in Punjab) which along with Peshawar was a significant cultural centre during that time. Most of these antiquities are owned by Peshawar or Taxila museums. In demanding that all of them be sent back to it KP seems right if the argument is that transfer of ownership of its cultural property to other provinces is unfair and causes impoverishment of its cultural heritage. The other provinces, however, may argue that antiquities are a collective cultural heritage of the nation, and hence they have as much right to them as the province of their origin.

As pointed out by a former Lahore Museum director general, Gandhara art makes up some of the oldest and most significant collection in all major museums. For obvious reasons, it is more valuable than artifacts from the Mughal and British periods. These museums and the provinces in which they are located are sure to put up resistance if an attempt is made to transfer any of these antiquities to KP. Notably, after the 18th Amendment, archaeological sites and remains other than those declared by or under law made by Parliament to be of national importance are on the Concurrent List. This may not allow the federal government to oblige KP. The transfer of cultural properties from Punjab and Sindh to the province of their origin would require fresh legislation. That may not be so easy. It is a serious issue and hence needs to be resolved in a fair and amicable manner.