Statue of Mother Annapurna from Canada handed over to UP

New Delhi: Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy on Thursday handed over the Annapurna Mother Goddess brought from Canada to the Uttar Pradesh government in a ceremony organized by the Indian Archaeological Department.

The event was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). Union Minister for Housing and Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State General V.K. The dignitaries including Singh attended the function.

The idol of Annapurna Mata, stolen a hundred years ago, was returned to India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts. He said that more than 40 such archeological artefacts have been returned to India since 2014. Before 2014, only 13 antiques were returned.

He added that the central government would provide two such ancient artefacts to Tamil Nadu, one each to Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Now times have changed. There was a time when the cultural symbols of India were going out. Now the return home of this priceless treasure of India has begun. On 15 October 2021, the Indian Archaeological Survey of India returned the stolen statue of Annapurna Mata from Canada a hundred years ago. It was stolen from Kashi in Uttar Pradesh a century ago and reached Canada by smuggling.

The 18th-century sculpture was housed in the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Canada. The university then handed it over to the Indian High Commissioner to Canada last year. Since 1976, 55 such ancient artefacts have returned to India. 42 of them have returned after 2014.