Britain returns a 500-year-old Idol of a Hindu saint to India !

The Idol will be ceremoniously reinstalled in a temple in Tamil Nadu

London (Britain) – The Ashmolean Museum of the University of Oxford has returned to India a highly valuable 16^th-century bronze Idol from Tamil Nadu. The Idol is of the great 16th-century saint Thirumangai Alvar, a devotee of Shri Vishnu from Tamil Nadu. The Idol was formally handed over to Indian officials at a ceremony held at India House in London. The 500-year-old Idol will now be reinstalled in the temple in Tamil Nadu from where it had been stolen several decades ago.

500-Year-Old Sacred Idol set to Return to India

Britain has returned a 500-year-old bronze idol of Vaishnavite saint-poet Tirumankai Alvar from the Vijayanagara era.

The statue, earlier kept at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, was confirmed to have been stolen from a Tamil Nadu… pic.twitter.com/j4OhCI80Kn

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) March 5, 2026

How the Idol was identified

1. The museum in Oxford had purchased the Idol in 1967.

2. In 2019, a researcher revealed that the Idol belonged to the Shri Soundararaja Perumal Temple at Thadikombu in Tamil Nadu.

3. When the claim was investigated, it was found to be correct. The Archaeological Survey of India and the Tamil Nadu Government presented concrete evidence confirming that the Idol belonged to that temple.

4. Dr Xa Sturgis, Director of the Ashmolean Museum, said that the Idol had been purchased in good faith; however, once the truth came to light, it was appropriate to return it. Notably, this is the first time in the museum’s history that it has returned an artefact to another country.