正文翻譯

The Modi administration has embarked on a diplomatic mission to retrieve the nation’s treasures that were plundered by colonizers

莫迪政府已經(jīng)開(kāi)始了一項(xiàng)外交任務(wù)，以找回被殖民者掠奪的該國(guó)珍寶

Weeks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington, the US handed over 105 antiquities to the Indian Consulate in New York. This is seen as New Delhi’s latest achievement in its hunt for national treasures that were looted by colonizers, and more recently – stolen from India and sold in the West.
In the 86th edition of ‘Mann ki Baat’ aired in February 2022, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio program in which he interacts with the public on issues of national importance, he said that India has managed to bring back over 200 precious idols since he came to power in 2014. They were either stolen or smuggled to the West. He hailed this achievement, claiming that only 13 relics had been retrieved by India before 2014. Modi attributed the “change of heart” of colonizing Western powers to India’s growing soft power on the global stage.

在印度總理納倫德拉·莫迪訪問(wèn)華盛頓幾周后，美國(guó)將105件古董交給了印度駐紐約領(lǐng)事館。這被視為新德里在尋找被殖民者掠奪的國(guó)寶以及最近從印度被盜并在西方出售的國(guó)寶上的最新成就。
在2022年2月播出的第86期“Mann ki Baat”中，這是印度總理納倫德拉·莫迪每月一次的廣播節(jié)目，他在其中與公眾互動(dòng)討論國(guó)家重要問(wèn)題，他表示自2014年上臺(tái)以來(lái)，印度已經(jīng)成功帶回了200多尊珍貴的雕像。它們要么被盜，要么被走私到西方。莫迪稱(chēng)贊這一成就，并聲稱(chēng)在2014年之前，印度只取回了13件文物。莫迪將殖民的西方大國(guó)的“心態(tài)轉(zhuǎn)變”歸功于印度在全球舞臺(tái)上不斷增強(qiáng)的軟實(shí)力。

‘History belongs to its geography’
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is working overtime to reverse the cultural conquest of colonial British and other Western powers, who plundered India’s treasures for centuries with impunity. The Modi government has made it a diplomatic priority to bring these antiquities back home as it pursues its nationalist agenda – “history belongs to its geography.” This is also a topic for global debate between the colonial and colonized nations, as described in ‘Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes’ by British journalist Barnaby Phillips.

“歷史屬于其地理”
執(zhí)政的印度人民黨(BJP)正在加班加點(diǎn)地努力扭轉(zhuǎn)殖民時(shí)期英國(guó)和其他西方大國(guó)的文化征服，這些國(guó)家?guī)讉€(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)肆意掠奪了印度的珍寶。莫迪政府將帶回這些古董視為外交優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)，因?yàn)樗非蟮氖敲褡逯髁x議程——“歷史屬于其地理”。這也是殖民國(guó)家和被殖民國(guó)家之間全球辯論的話題，正如英國(guó)記者巴納比·菲利普斯在《戰(zhàn)利品：英國(guó)和古貝寧王國(guó)青銅器》一書(shū)中所描述的那樣。

Several nations colonized in the past, including India, have been clamoring for repatriation of their antiquities housed in British museums. In a 2022 ‘Mann ki Baat’ episode, Modi touched upon the issue, citing his “responsibility towards mother India” as they are “part of the nation’s soul and faith.” Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was the first foreign leader to help Modi kickstart his cultural quest. In 2014, during a visit to India, he handed over two stolen 11th century idols of Nataraja (widely known as ‘Dancing Shiva’) and Ardhanarishwar (a half male and half female idol of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati).

在過(guò)去，包括印度在內(nèi)的幾個(gè)國(guó)家一直在呼吁將收藏在英國(guó)博物館的古跡遣返。在2022年的“Mann ki Baat”節(jié)目中，莫迪談到了這個(gè)問(wèn)題，并表示這是他“對(duì)印度母親的責(zé)任”，因?yàn)檫@些文物“是國(guó)家靈魂和信仰的一部分”。前澳大利亞總理托尼·阿博特是第一位幫助莫迪啟動(dòng)他文化追求的外國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人。在2014年訪問(wèn)印度時(shí)，他移交了兩尊被盜的11世紀(jì) Nataraja（廣泛被稱(chēng)為“舞王濕婆”）和阿爾達(dá)納里什瓦（濕婆和他的伴侶帕爾瓦蒂的半男半女身像）雕像。

In 2021, in reply to a question in Parliament, then-Culture Minister Prahlad Patel shared details of the 36 artifacts recovered from the US, Australia, and the UK over a period of five years. Spanning centuries – from the Mauryas (321 BC to 185 BC) to the Cholas (9th Century AD to 13th Century AD) – and from across the country – Andhra Pradesh to Kashmir and West Bengal – the idols were returned voluntarily. The minister’s response came in the wake of the Netherlands government’s announcement that it would return all stolen artifacts to its former colonies. In India, the Dutch East India Company had colonies in Kozhikode, Masulipatnam, Nagapattinam, Puducherry, Serampore, and Pazhaverkadu.

2021年，在議會(huì)的一次問(wèn)題回答中，時(shí)任文化部長(zhǎng)Prahlad Patel 分享了在過(guò)去五年中從美國(guó)、澳大利亞和英國(guó)追回的36件文物的細(xì)節(jié)。這些文物跨越了幾個(gè)世紀(jì)——從孔雀王朝（公元前321年至公元前185年）到朱羅王朝（公元9世紀(jì)至公元13世紀(jì)）——并來(lái)自印度各地——從安得拉邦到克什米爾和西孟加拉邦——這些雕像都是自愿歸還的。該部長(zhǎng)的回應(yīng)是在荷蘭政府宣布將所有被盜文物歸還給其前殖民地之后作出的。在印度，荷蘭東印度公司在科澤科德、蘇里帕特納姆、納加伯蒂訥姆、本地治里、塞蘭布爾和帕扎維爾卡杜都有殖民地。

Bringing gods back home
The US returned 105 items after New Delhi and Washington agreed to work on a Cultural Property Agreement that would prevent the illegal trafficking of cultural artifacts. The antiquities, made of terracotta, stone, metal, and wood, span the 2nd-3rd Century AD to the British colonial-rule in the 19th Century and encompass the diverse geographical spread of India. Around 50 hold religious significance for the majority Hindus and the minority Jains and Muslims, and the rest are of immense cultural importance.
The 47 terracotta pieces, vases and plaques date back to the 2nd and 3rd Century AD and are from Chandraketugarh, a 2,500-year-old archaeological site near Bidyadhari River in present-day West Bengal. The pieces include a plaque depicting a spiritual figure wearing bejeweled headgear and a sculpture of the Hindu god Vishnu riding Garuda, a mythical bird. Another 20 stone pieces trace their origins between the 10th and 12th century, depicting the Hindu idols Vishnu and Lakshmi, and a miniature Jain shrine.

將神婆帶回家
在新德里和華盛頓同意合作制定文化財(cái)產(chǎn)協(xié)定以防止非法販賣(mài)文化文物后，美國(guó)歸還了105件文物。這些古跡包括陶土、石頭、金屬和木制品，跨越了公元2-3世紀(jì)到19世紀(jì)的英國(guó)殖民統(tǒng)治時(shí)期，涵蓋了印度多樣化的地理范圍。其中約50件對(duì)大多數(shù)印度教徒以及少數(shù)耆那教徒和穆斯林具有宗教意義，其余的則具有巨大的文化重要性。
這47件陶土作品、花瓶和浮雕可以追溯到公元2至3世紀(jì)，來(lái)自位于現(xiàn)今西孟加拉邦的陳德拉克圖加爾，這是一個(gè)有著2500年歷史的考古遺址，位于毗達(dá)哈里河附近。這些作品包括一塊描繪一位戴著寶石頭飾的靈性人物的浮雕，以及一尊描繪印度教神祇毗濕奴騎著神鳥(niǎo)迦樓羅的雕塑。另外還有20件石制品可以追溯到10至12世紀(jì)，描繪了印度教神祇毗濕奴和拉克什米，以及一個(gè)微型的耆那教神龕。

Many of these items were stolen by an American citizen of Indian origin, Subash Kapoor, who was sentenced to ten years by a Tamil Nadu court and is currently serving his term. The US authorities have indicted Kapoor for stealing artifacts that are valued at more than $100 million. Earlier in April, India was among 15 countries whose artifacts were returned by the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations’ mission. Data shows that the US has returned 278 artifacts to India, including 16 in 2016 and 157 in 2021.

這些物品中許多都是由美籍印度裔的美國(guó)公民Subash Kapoor盜取的，他在泰米爾納德邦法院被判處十年徒刑，目前正在服刑中。美國(guó)當(dāng)局指控Kapoor盜竊了價(jià)值超過(guò)1億美元的文物。今年四月，美國(guó)移民和海關(guān)執(zhí)法局（ICE）國(guó)土安全部調(diào)查部門(mén)歸還了15個(gè)國(guó)家的文物，其中包括印度。數(shù)據(jù)顯示，美國(guó)已經(jīng)歸還了278件文物給印度，其中包括2016年歸還了16件，2021年歸還了157件。

Citizens’ movement
The Modi government’s diplomatic breakthrough received a force multiplier in a civil society initiative concerned with “national pride and security.” Since 2013, the India Pride Project, a citizens’ movement for the repatriation of stolen and smuggled antiquities from public museums and private collectors across the world, has been doing a great deal of work.
The movement was co-founded by public policy expert Anuraag Saxena, a Singapore-based non-resident Indian, and shipping company executive S. Vijay Kumar, who lives in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Even before the India Pride Project, which has around 300 anonymous global teams of volunteers from all walks of life and who communicate mostly virtually, came to fruition, Kumar had already spent over a decade on this mission.
Since its inception, the project’s volunteers have brought back to India several millions worth of antiquities from across the world, including Australia, Singapore, Germany, and the US, Saxena told RT. The fledgling organization’s core team has 11 people, who are giving wings to the Modi government’s ‘decolonization’ bid. “India cannot be called a decolonized nation unless the nation can rightfully claim its precious treasures,” Saxena said. The movement aims to bring back both those artifacts taken forcibly out of India during the British colonial era, and those stolen and smuggled from temples and public collections more recently.

公民運(yùn)動(dòng)
莫迪政府在外交突破方面得到了一個(gè)力量倍增器，這是一個(gè)關(guān)注"民族自豪和安全"的民間社會(huì)倡議。自2013年以來(lái)，"印度自豪項(xiàng)目"（India Pride Project）一直在進(jìn)行大量的工作，旨在從全球公共博物館和私人收藏家那里追索被盜和走私的古董。
該運(yùn)動(dòng)由總部位于新加坡的公共政策專(zhuān)家Anuraag Saxena和居住在泰米爾納德邦金奈市的航運(yùn)公司高管S. Vijay Kumar共同創(chuàng)立。在“印度自豪項(xiàng)目“成為現(xiàn)實(shí)之前，庫(kù)馬爾已經(jīng)花了十多年的時(shí)間來(lái)推動(dòng)這個(gè)使命。
自成立以來(lái)，該項(xiàng)目的志愿者們已經(jīng)從澳大利亞、新加坡、德國(guó)和美國(guó)等地將價(jià)值數(shù)百萬(wàn)的古董帶回了印度，Saxena告訴RT。這個(gè)新生組織的核心團(tuán)隊(duì)有11人，他們正在推動(dòng)莫迪政府的"去殖民化"努力。Saxena說(shuō)："只有當(dāng)國(guó)家能夠合法地?fù)碛袑氋F的文物時(shí)，印度才能被稱(chēng)為一個(gè)去殖民化的國(guó)家。"該運(yùn)動(dòng)旨在追索那些在英國(guó)殖民時(shí)期被強(qiáng)行帶出印度的文物，以及最近從寺廟和公共收藏中被盜竊和走私的文物。

Saxena argued that “in a flatter, more transparent world, nations (read Western) will have to give up the aggressive, loot-and-scoot view of another’s heritage,” while citing how “India has been a victim to colonizers and mercenaries for centuries. Let’s not forget Christopher Columbus was looking for India when he lost his way to America.”
The volunteers are optimistic about the road ahead, despite the scarcity of resources. “There has been an institutionalized destruction of Indian culture since independence. Over 70 years of rust will take time to clean,” he said, adding, “we have zero employees, zero authority, and zero funding. Imagine what we could achieve with the right institutional support.”
Saxena hailed the organization’s efforts of two years ago which aided an investigation and convinced the National Gallery of Australia to return 14 artifacts worth $2.2 million, which were stolen by Kapoor, to the Indian government. “Magic happens when the right intent comes together,” he said. There was another feather in the project’s cap in 2015, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited India. She handed over to Modi a stolen heritage Durga idol as a goodwill gesture. The idol was stolen from India and sold to a German museum at a cost of $250,000. Now, the project seeks to restore India’s pride and heritage glory – one precious piece at a time – despite a gaping regulatory lacuna.

Saxena認(rèn)為，在一個(gè)更加平等、透明的世界中，國(guó)家（特指西方國(guó)家）必須放棄對(duì)他人遺產(chǎn)的掠奪和溜之大吉的觀點(diǎn)。他引用了"印度幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)一直是殖民者和雇傭兵的受害者。我們不要忘記，克里斯托弗·哥倫布在迷路去美洲時(shí)其實(shí)是在尋找印度"。
盡管資源匱乏，志愿者們對(duì)未來(lái)充滿信心。他說(shuō)："獨(dú)立以來(lái)，印度文化遭到了制度化的破壞。70多年的沉積需要時(shí)間來(lái)清理。"他補(bǔ)充道："我們沒(méi)有員工，沒(méi)有權(quán)力，也沒(méi)有資金支持。想象一下，如果有正確的制度支持，我們可以取得什么樣的成就。"
Saxena贊揚(yáng)了兩年前該組織的努力，幫助調(diào)查并說(shuō)服澳大利亞國(guó)家美術(shù)館將由Kapoor盜竊的價(jià)值220萬(wàn)美元的14件文物歸還給印度政府。他說(shuō)："當(dāng)正確的意圖相遇時(shí)，奇跡就會(huì)發(fā)生。"該項(xiàng)目在2015年又取得了另一個(gè)成就，當(dāng)時(shí)德國(guó)總理安格拉·默克爾訪問(wèn)印度時(shí)，她作為一種友好姿態(tài)，交還了一尊從印度盜竊并以25萬(wàn)美元的價(jià)格出售給德國(guó)博物館的達(dá)吾爾迦母神像?，F(xiàn)在，該項(xiàng)目尋求逐漸恢復(fù)印度的自豪感和文化遺產(chǎn)輝煌，盡管面臨的法規(guī)漏洞仍然存在。

Heritage laws
India failed to retrieve stolen artifacts after it gained independence from the British in 1947 largely because it lacks strict regulations, experts say. Restitution has been rare in the absence of foolproof regulatory measures. The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972, which was implemented on April 1, 1976, has largely remained a paper tiger, unlike, for example, the stringent US Federal Historic Preservation Laws, despite the country’s rich historical past, Saxena said. China, another ancient civilization like India, has introduced regulations to safeguard its heritage.
Saxena explained that “not-so-prosperous countries such as Jordan and Mexico have robust regulations, while a more economically-advanced nation such as India is found lacking owing to a policy paralysis of successive governments in the past. Jordan’s GDP is less than 2% of India’s, but it still has a stringent enforcement agency unlike ours.”

遺產(chǎn)法
專(zhuān)家表示，印度在1947年從英國(guó)獨(dú)立后未能成功追回被盜的文物，主要是因?yàn)槿狈?yán)格的法規(guī)。由于缺乏萬(wàn)無(wú)一失的監(jiān)管措施，文物歸還一直很少見(jiàn)。盡管印度擁有悠久的歷史，但1972年的《古物和藝術(shù)珍品法案》在1976年4月1日實(shí)施后，基本上只是紙上談兵，沒(méi)有像美國(guó)聯(lián)邦歷史保護(hù)法那樣嚴(yán)格執(zhí)行，Saxena說(shuō)。中國(guó)和印度一樣是古老的文明國(guó)家，但中國(guó)已經(jīng)出臺(tái)了保護(hù)文化遺產(chǎn)的法規(guī)。
Saxena解釋道，"像約旦和墨西哥這樣的不太富裕的國(guó)家擁有健全的法規(guī)，而像印度這樣經(jīng)濟(jì)上更先進(jìn)的國(guó)家由于過(guò)去連續(xù)政府的政策癱瘓而顯得缺乏足夠的法規(guī)。盡管約旦的國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值不到印度的2%，但他們?nèi)匀挥幸粋€(gè)嚴(yán)格的執(zhí)法機(jī)構(gòu)，而我們沒(méi)有。"

How Britain stole $45 trillion from India
The British, which ruled India for nearly 200 years between 1757 and 1947, has perpetuated the narrative that governing the undivided country was a gesture of London’s benevolence. However, a research paper by economist Utsa Patnaik published by Columbia University Press in 2019 debunks that long-held narrative.
Patnaik’s research – based on exhaustive data on tax and trade – revealed that Britain robbed India of around $45 trillion between 1765 and 1938. As a comparative figure, the UK’s present-day economy – the sixth-largest in the world – is estimated at $3.16 trillion, around 15 times less than what it had systematically plundered from India, including the precious 105.6 carat crown jewel Koh-i-Noor, which loosely translates to ‘Mountain of Light’ from Persian. Indian Minister for External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar endorsed Patnaik’s findings.

英國(guó)如何從印度竊取了45萬(wàn)億美元
英國(guó)在1757年至1947年間統(tǒng)治了將近200年的印度，一直以來(lái)都宣稱(chēng)統(tǒng)治這個(gè)未分裂的國(guó)家是倫敦的善意姿態(tài)。然而，2019年哥倫比亞大學(xué)出版社發(fā)表的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家烏沙·帕特納伊克（Utsa Patnaik）的研究論文推翻了這個(gè)長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)的說(shuō)法。
帕特納伊克的研究基于稅收和貿(mào)易等詳盡的數(shù)據(jù)，揭示了英國(guó)在1765年至1938年間從印度掠奪了約45萬(wàn)億美元。作為對(duì)比，英國(guó)如今的經(jīng)濟(jì)規(guī)模位居世界第六，估計(jì)為3.16萬(wàn)億美元，大約只有它從印度系統(tǒng)性掠奪的財(cái)富的十五分之一，其中包括珍貴的105.6克拉皇冠鉆石光明之山（Koh-i-Noor），波斯語(yǔ)中意為"光之山"。印度外交事務(wù)部長(zhǎng)蘇布拉馬尼安姆·賈伊沙卡爾（Subrahmanyam Jaishankar）支持帕特納伊克的研究結(jié)果。

The Guardian uncovered from Britain’s ‘India Office’ archives how priceless items from the colony – known as the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ – were “extracted as trophies of conquest.” The 46-page file, which dates back to 1912, revealed an investigation ordered by Queen Mary (Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother) into the “imperial origins of her jewels.”
Shashi Tharoor, formerly an undersecretary at the United Nations and currently a three-term member of Parliament, told The Guardian, “We have finally entered an era where colonial loot and pillage is being recognized for what it really was, rather than being dressed up as the incidental spoils of some noble ‘civilizing mission.’” The Congress MP echoed similar thoughts in another Indian documentary, ‘Blood Buddha – Bringing Our Gods Home’: “they [the British] didn’t steal them because they could look after them better; they stole them first and found the justification later.”

英國(guó)《衛(wèi)報(bào)》從英國(guó)的“印度辦公室”檔案中揭露了殖民地珍貴物品被作為“征服的戰(zhàn)利品”“擠取”的事實(shí)。這份始于1912年的46頁(yè)文件揭示了瑪麗女王（伊麗莎白女王的祖母）下令調(diào)查她的珠寶的“帝國(guó)淵源”。
曾任聯(lián)合國(guó)副秘書(shū)長(zhǎng)、目前連任三屆議會(huì)成員的Shashi Tharoor告訴《衛(wèi)報(bào)》：“我們終于進(jìn)入了一個(gè)承認(rèn)殖民洗劫和掠奪的時(shí)代，而不是把它們打扮成某種高尚‘文明使命’的意外戰(zhàn)利品?！边@位國(guó)大黨議員在另一部印度紀(jì)錄片《血之佛——帶回我們的神像》中也表達(dá)了類(lèi)似觀點(diǎn)：“他們（英國(guó)人）偷走它們并不是因?yàn)樗麄兡芨玫卣疹櫵鼈?，而是先偷走然后找到后?lái)的理由?！?/p>