Overview

• India’s Ministry of Culture has formally requested Sotheby’s Hong Kong to cancel the auction of the Piprahwa relics and repatriate them, citing their status as inalienable cultural heritage under Indian law.
• The relics, excavated in 1898 and linked to the Buddha, include jewels and bone fragments classified as ‘AA’ antiquities, prohibiting their sale or export under India’s Antiquities and Art Treasures Act (1972).
• Sotheby’s has postponed the May 7 auction following legal notices from India and stated it is giving the matter "full attention" while engaging in discussions with the consignors.
• The Indian government has also invoked UNESCO and UNIDROIT conventions, arguing the sale violates international agreements on cultural property and disrupts Buddhist religious traditions.
• Buddhist leaders and scholars have condemned the auction, asserting the relics’ inseparability from the Buddha’s remains and criticizing the commercialization of sacred artifacts as colonial exploitation.