A museum will hand over sacred Indian manuscripts after deeming the collection was obtained “unethically”.
The Wellcome Collection in London has agreed to relinquish 2,000 documents of spiritual significance to Jainism, the Indian faith based on a strict code of non-violence.
Many cultural treasures at the centre of debates about restitution were looted or obtained illegally, but the majority of these manuscripts were legally purchased from a Jain temple in the Punjab in 1919.
In a first for British collections, curators have nonetheless decided that the purchase by pharmaceutical tycoon and collection founder, Sir Henry Wellcome, was “unethical” because it was detrimental to the Jain sellers.
The decision was made to transfer the manuscripts back to the Institute of Jainology, a UK-based charity representing the faith, and they will be held at specialist library at the University of Birmingham.
The institute has admitted that the texts might not have survived had they been housed in India.
Mehool Sanghrajka, managing trustee for the Institute of Jainology, told the Telegraph: “It’s a very Jain way of looking at this, but there are two sides to this.
“On the one hand, there is the ethical question of the acquisition, and the manuscript being bought for far under the market price and so on.
“But on the other hand, they were taken from a place that suffered greatly during partition, so it’s quite possible that they were saved by being brought to Britain.”
During the partition India in 1947, many temples were destroyed or abandoned, and the Jain community itself was displaced from the Punjab.
A portrayal of the saint Mahavira from the Kalpa Sūtra, Jaina scripture that was frequently illustrated – Wellcome Collection
The texts date from the 15th up the 19th centuries, and range from illuminated devotional manuscripts to medical treatises.
Dr Adrian Plau, Wellcome Collection researcher, explained that 1,200 of the 2,000 manuscripts were bought from a single temple by an agent of Sir Henry, who was a keen collector of medical artefacts and texts.
He said that Sir Henry’s purchasing agents believed they had secured a good deal, and the temple customs did not know the true value of the library they sold off.
This has been deemed unacceptable by the Wellcome Collection, and in breach of its commitment to “inclusive, collaborative and ethical management of its collections”.
In keeping ahimsa, the ancient Indian principle of non-violence, the Institute of Jainology did not enter into a dispute over the manuscripts and no official claim for their handover was ever made.
Instead the deal, signed off during a meeting of the All-Party Parliament Group on Jainism in Westminster, was negotiated over time.
Mr Sanghrajka said that the intention was not to create tension or right past wrongs, but only to ensure that Jains could access the material.
He added: “We hope we could be the model for others to follow. It takes the temperature out of the issues and these debates about restitution.”
“At the end of the day, I don’t want to handle a 15th century manuscript: it would fall apart. It is best that they are cared for by specialists. What this was all about was access, and hopefully the community can benefit.”
Daniel Martin, associate director of collections and digital at the Wellcome Collection, said: “We thank the Jain community for our work together on this landmark restitution, through which we have formed a strong and lasting bond.
“We have set the bar high for a collaborative and compassionate approach to restitution that recognises the hurt caused by unethical acquisition and retention of material heritage.”
Debates about the repatriation of cultural treasure have raged in recent years, with the Elgin Marbles still being sought by Greece, and Nigeria pursuing the return of the Benin Bronzes.
Earlier this year, a collection in Brighton decided to return a number of artefacts to Botswana simply “to give them meaning”, as they were more valuable to African communities than British museum-goers.
