New Delhi:
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who also holds the arts portfolio, has made one of the strongest public commitments yet to the repatriation of stolen Indian cultural artefacts, declaring that unlawfully held items in Australian institutions amount to theft and pledging his government will act on its own initiative rather than waiting for New Delhi’s requests.
Speaking to NDTV’s Senior Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the return of several significant Indian artefacts during his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s visit this month, Burke described the move as part of an ongoing, systemic obligation rather than a one-off diplomatic gesture.
“There are two sorts of returns,” he said, explaining items Australia proactively identifies as unlawfully held in its own museums and formal requests from origin countries.
In the first category, he was unambiguous: “We shouldn’t be waiting for the requests. We need to be on the front foot organising the return.”
Burke framed the principle in stark moral terms rarely heard from a serving minister on this issue. “There should be no country in the world that views theft as acceptable,” he said. “If you’ve got something that wasn’t lawfully required, keeping it is theft.” He cited a precedent from Australia’s own history to underline his point – a Shiva idol previously held by the National Gallery of Australia that was returned once officials established the institution had no legitimate claim to it, calling the recent returns “the same” principle in action.
Burke linked the repatriation drive directly to the broader trust underpinning the India-Australia relationship, describing it as tangible proof of friendship rather than symbolism. “Part of that show of trust and friendship with a friend like India is to make sure that those items are returned,” he said while noting the artefacts issue is “but a very small part” of a much deeper cultural and strategic cooperation between the two nations.
The minister then offered an unusually personal coda to the discussion, revealing that while the two prime ministers attended a stadium event during Modi’s visit, he chose instead to attend the 25th-anniversary screening of the Bollywood classic Lagaan, where he met actor Aamir Khan for the first time. Burke said he stayed for the entire film – by his count, the third or fourth time he has watched it – calling it a “beautiful film” whose multicultural, multi-caste cricket team carries a message he considers universal: “There is no form of bigotry that makes you stronger.”
Burke went on to describe himself as an avid consumer of Indian cinema, naming the Tamil film Anbe Sivam as his all-time favourite from any country, praising the ambition of RRR.
Taken together, Burke’s remarks suggest Canberra sees cultural repatriation not as a peripheral diplomatic courtesy but as a substantive marker of good faith with India, one likely to be watched closely for further returns in the months ahead.
