Steps afoot to bring back King Rajendra Chola’s Charter from the Netherlands: Centre

King Rajendra Chola’s 11th century Charter inscribed on 21 copper plates bound by a massive bronze ring fastened with his seal.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Union Ministry of Culture and Tourism has informed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Member of Parliament N.R. Elango of having taken steps to bring back to the country an 11th century charter of King Rajendra Chola from Universiteit Leiden (University of Leiden) in the Netherlands.

Answering a query raised by the MP in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told the House that bilateral talks between the countries were underway to bring back the charter inscribed on 21 copper plates and held together by a massive bronze ring.

Chronicles of the past in copper

The Minister said, apart from the bilateral dialogues, the matter was also raised in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Inter Governmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to the Country of its Origin (ICPRCP) on May 30.

Mr. Elango said, the return of the ancient charter to India was very vital for the study of Tamil history since it contained inscriptions in both Sanskrit as well as Tamil and had recorded the achievements and deeds dating back to the erstwhile King Raja Raja Chola-I between 985 and 1012 A.D.

“The inscriptions recount how the Hindu King had allowed a Malay Buddhist King of the empire of Sriwijaya (Sumatra and the Malay peninsula) to build a sanctuary in the important port and trading town of Nagapattinam and also the donations made by him to build a Buddhist shrine,” Mr. Elango said.

The massive bronze ring, around the 21 copper plates, also contains an impressive seal of King Rajendra Chola. Unfortunately, this charter was taken away to the Netherlands in the 18th century, became family property, and then got donated to the library in the Universiteit Leiden, the MP added.

Though Mr. Elango had also insisted on bringing back the 8th century Velvikudi copper plates of the Pandya Kingdom from the British Museum in London, since they too contain a treasure trove of history, the Minister replied that there was no proposal at present in that regard.