Buddhist gems back in India after uproar
A collection of hundreds of jewels linked to Buddha's remains has returned to India after 127 years following an auction planned for earlier this year that drew threats of legal action from the government in Delhi.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the return of the collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha.
"A joyous day for our cultural heritage!" Modi wrote in a post on X. "It would make every Indian proud."
The collection of more than 300 gems date from the Mauryan Empire, around 240-200 BCE (Before the Common Era).
It was originally scheduled to be auctioned by Sotheby's in Hong Kong in May, but the sale was postponed after India's government threatened legal action and demanded the jewels be returned.
Sotheby's subsequently identified Indian conglomerate Godrej Industries Group as the buyer and secured a sale that saw the permanent return of the gems to India, where they would be placed on public display.
"Sotheby's is delighted to have facilitated the return of the Piprahwa Gems to India," the auction house said in a statement on Wednesday.
India's Ministry of Culture said it was an exemplary public-private partnership and the initiative aligned with Modi's broader mission to reclaim and celebrate India's ancient cultural and spiritual heritage from across the world.
The gems were unearthed in 1898 from an ancient stupa in Piprahwa, northern India, by English estate manager William Claxton Peppe, along with fragments of bone thought to belong to Buddha.
Peppe was later allowed to keep more than 300 duplicate gems, which remained in his family.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
10 hours ago
- 1News
Trump reveals 25% tariff on India, unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil
The United States will impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India's purchasing of Russian oil, President Donald Trump said today. India 'is our friend,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform, but its tariffs on US products 'are far too high'. The Republican president added India buys military equipment and oil from Russia, enabling Moscow's war in Ukraine. As a result, he intends to charge an additional 'penalty' starting on Friday (local time) as part of the launch of his administration's revised tariffs on multiple countries. Trump told reporters today the two countries were still in the middle of negotiations on trade despite the tariffs slated to begin in a few days. 'We're talking to India now," the president said. "We'll see what happens.' ADVERTISEMENT The Indian government said today it's studying the implications of Trump's tariffs announcement. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a 'fair, balanced and mutually beneficial' bilateral trade agreement over the last few months, and New Delhi remains committed to that objective, India's Trade Ministry said in a statement. Trump today signed separate orders to tax imports of copper at 50% and justify his 50% tariffs on Brazil due to their criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro and treatment of US social media companies. Trump also signed an order saying that government now had the systems in place to close the tariff loophole on 'de minimis' shipments, which had enabled goods priced under $800 (NZ$1355) to enter America duty-free, largely from China. Trump also said on Truth Social that he was meeting today with a trade delegation from South Korea, which currently faces 25% tariffs starting on Friday (local time). He also said the US has reached a deal with Pakistan that includes the development of its oil reserves. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was briefing him on trade talks with China. Trump's view on tariffs Trump's announcement comes after a slew of negotiated trade frameworks with the European Union, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia — all of which he said would open markets for American goods while enabling the US to raise tax rates on imports. The president views tariff revenues as a way to help offset the budget deficit increases tied to his recent income tax cuts and generate more domestic factory jobs. While Trump has effectively wielded tariffs as a cudgel to reset the terms of trade, the economic impact is uncertain as most economists expect a slowdown in US growth and greater inflationary pressures as some of the costs of the taxes are passed along to domestic businesses and consumers. ADVERTISEMENT There's also the possibility of more tariffs coming on trade partners with Russia as well as on pharmaceutical drugs and computer chips. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Trump and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would announce the Russia-related tariff rates on India at a later date. Tariffs face European pushback The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including tsunami threat remains for NZ and quake sparks Russian volcanic eruption, plus the pop star and the politician spotted having dinner. (Source: 1News) Trump's approach of putting a 15% tariff on America's long-standing allies in the EU is also generating pushback, possibly causing European partners as well as Canada to seek alternatives to US leadership on the world stage. French President Emmanuel Macron said today in the aftermath of the trade framework that Europe 'does not see itself sufficiently' as a global power, saying in a cabinet meeting that negotiations with the US will continue as the agreement gets formalised. ADVERTISEMENT 'To be free, you have to be feared,' Macron said. 'We have not been feared enough. There is a greater urgency than ever to accelerate the European agenda for sovereignty and competitiveness.' Seeking a deeper partnership with India Washington has long sought to develop a deeper partnership with New Delhi, which is seen as a bulwark against China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has established a good working relationship with Trump, and the two leaders are likely to further boost cooperation between their countries. When Trump in February met with Modi, the US president said that India would start buying American oil and natural gas. The new tariffs on India could complicate its goal of doubling bilateral trade with the US to $500 billion (NZ$847.3 billion) by 2030. The two countries have had five rounds of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. While US has been seeking greater market access and zero tariff on almost all its exports, India has expressed reservations on throwing open sectors such as agriculture and dairy, which employ a bulk of the country's population for livelihood, Indian officials said. The Census Bureau reported that the US ran a $45.8 billion (NZ$77.6 billion) trade imbalance in goods with India last year, meaning it imported more than it exported. At a population exceeding 1.4 billion people, India is the world's largest country and a possible geopolitical counterbalance to China. India and Russia have close relations, and New Delhi has not supported Western sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The new tariffs could put India at a disadvantage in the US market relative to Vietnam, Bangladesh and, possibly, China, said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. 'We are back to square one as Trump hasn't spelled out what the penalties would be in addition to the tariff,' Sahai said. 'The demand for Indian goods is bound to be hit.'
Otago Daily Times
20 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Air NZ appointment of new boss sparks backlash
The appointment of Nikhil Ravishankar as Air New Zealand's incoming chief executive has caused a stir, after major news outlets were forced to disable comments on their social media platforms due to receiving a barrage of racist remarks. Ravishankar, chief digital officer at company, was tapped to lead the national carrier - one of the country's most respected corporate brands - after Greg Foran steps down in October. However, the appointment of the Indian-origin insider to the airline's top job has attracted a torrent of abuse online, with many zeroing in on Ravishankar's ethnicity. The abuse forced the country's leading media organisations to restrict or disable the ability to comment on the social media posts announcing the news. New Zealand Herald disabled comments on the Facebook post announcing the appointment "due to racist comments". "We appreciate the high level of interest in this story but cannot safely moderate it at this time," the news outlet said in a post in the comment thread. A spokesperson at New Zealand Herald later pointed RNZ towards the company's policy on social media comments. "We want to foster a safe online community by reducing instances of hate, racism, abuse and misinformation," the media organisation's policy said. "We welcome your feedback on articles but there has to be some parameters, and these are explained in our community house rules. "These clearly explain that we will not publish comments that are insulting, inflammatory or derogatory or those that spread misinformation or include personal attacks. "We cannot tolerate hate. We cannot tolerate abuse towards individuals in our stories or other commenters." RNZ was also forced to disable comments on the social media post regarding Ravishankar's appointment. "Under RNZ's comments policy, we will proactively disable comments on posts which may attract abusive or harmful comments or when resources are required elsewhere," a spokesperson said. "In this instance, the comments were disabled after our monitoring found racist comments. "We want people to feel safe and respected on our community forums and will continue to proactively disable comments where necessary. We will not tolerate harmful communications." TVNZ's 1News digital service took similar action in terms of restricting comments on the post. "We received a large number of comments on this post," a spokesperson for 1News said. "The vast majority were appropriate, however some were not. With our news team diverted to cover the tsunami event yesterday afternoon and evening we opted to turn comments off given sufficient monitoring wasn't possible." Ravishankar holds bachelor's degrees in science and commerce from the University of Auckland after attending Mount Albert Grammar School in New Zealand's largest city. He sits on the board of New Zealand Asian Leaders and is an advisory committee member of The Auckland Blues Foundation. Ravishankar has been with Air New Zealand for nearly five years and been involved in strengthening its technology, loyalty and customer services. Before joining the airline, Ravishankar was chief digital officer at Vector New Zealand, leading the company's digital and information technology function and its transformation programme from 2017. He was previously managing director at Accenture in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, and held technology strategy and transformation leadership roles at Spark New Zealand. Ravishankar highlighted the deep legacy of the company he would soon lead in his first public comments after his appointment was announced. "This airline is an institution with a deep legacy but also a fantastic future," he said. "It's a privilege to step into the CEO role and take on that responsibility for our people, our customers and our country. "At the end of the day, we are a people business - purposeful, ambitious and deeply rooted in Aotearoa New Zealand, and I'm excited to help shape what this next stage of Air New Zealand looks like." RNZ has approached Air New Zealand for comment. Latest Census data in 2023 showed that the Indian population had leapfrogged the Chinese community to become the third-largest ethnic group in New Zealand. A total of 292,092 people in the country identified as a member of the Indian community in the 2023 Census, an increase of 22% since 2018. The New Zealand European ethnic group remained the largest, with a population of 3,099,858, followed by Māori with 887,493. Auckland's Indian population grew by 13% between 2018 and 2023, rising from 154,824 in 2018 to 175,794 five years later.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Trump's global trade policy faces test, hours from tariff deadline
With just hours to go before his declared deadline, Trump announced that he was delaying a tariff hike on Mexican products, originally due Friday, for 90 days after talks with his counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will sign an executive order to implement his various threatened tariff rates. Other road bumps remain. While Trump has touted a surge in customs revenues since the start of the year, economists warn the duties could fuel inflation. Meanwhile, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has been hearing arguments in cases brought against Trump's blanket tariffs targeting various economies. A Government lawyer has told the court that the tariff orders were covered by 'broad discretion' he enjoys when it comes to handling national emergencies – including pressing economic issues. A lower court's ruling had blocked most of the duties from taking effect, prompting the Trump administration's challenge. The duties have been allowed to remain for now. Deal or no deal So far, Washington has announced pacts with Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and the European Union. South Korea squeezed in a last-minute agreement on a 15% tariff, significantly below the 25% that Trump threatened on its goods. But Trump announced 50% tariffs on Brazilian products – although delaying their imposition and allowing key exemptions – as an effort to pressure the US ally to drop its prosecution of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro on coup charges. He also unveiled a 25% levy on Indian imports, and warned Canada it would face trade repercussions for planning to recognise a Palestinian state. And the details of agreements that have been made remain vague. The EU, while having reached a pact, continues pushing for a carve-out for its wine industry. Looming over the entire global economy is the still unresolved trade tussle between the United States and its chief rival China, with the superpowers in talks to maintain a truce after earlier imposing triple-digit tariffs on each other. Canada threat Washington has yet to finalise a deal with neighbouring Canada, while Trump said he was maintaining existing 25% duties on Mexican imports. Canada's trade relations with the United States came under renewed threat after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. 'That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them,' Trump warned on social media. Carney said 'It is possible that we may not conclude talks by August 1.' Goods covered by a North American trade pact have been excluded from Trump's latest tariffs. Although Mexico and Canada were not originally targeted under Trump's 'reciprocal tariff' plan, he had separately threatened both neighbours with the same Friday deadline. The tariff hikes due Friday were announced in April when Trump slapped a minimum 10% levy on goods from almost all partners – citing unfair trade practices. This rate was set to rise to varying levels for dozens of countries, but Washington twice postponed their implementation. –Agence France-Presse
