The move follows the setting up of a parliamentary committee in Britain to consider the return of the famous Elgin marbles to Greece following extensive negotiations.

That the Labour government is now considering return of the Elgin marbles, which are a star possession displayed in the British Museum, brings some glimmer of seriousness to the move under way for the return of Indian treasures.

The move has been launched by the Committee for the Restoration of the Cultural Heritage of India (CRCH) headed by Bhaskar Ghorpade, the barrister who successfully fought the case for the return to India of a famous 8th century Nataraja statue. He has represented New Delhi in all cases involving Indian cultural heritage.

"This is an opportune moment," said Ghorpade. "The House of Commons select committee can inquire into the possession of all major works of art either stolen or dubiously acquired by Britain'smuseums and art galleries."The case for the Elgin marbles, which date to the 5th century BC, has been opened in Britain for the first time in 200 years. They were acquired by Lord Elgin in 1801 and brought to London between 1804 and 1815.

Greece has been piling increasing pressure for their return. It has already announced construction of a new museum in Athens to house the marbles when they are returned.

The CRCH plans to make its first move for the return of the Amravati marbles that were taken from a temple in what is now Andhra Pradesh. The marbles date to the 1st or 2nd century AD. The committee will also open negotiations on the huge Indian collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

"The Indian hoard goes back to the Oriental repository set up by the East India Company in 1798," says Ghorpade. That the British are preserving treasures carefully is a myth, he claimed. The Elgin marbles were revealed in 1998 to have been seriously damaged in a cleaning operation. The Indian collections werereported by a standing commission on museums and galleries to have been "scandalously neglected". Controversies over Indian treasures in Britain arose first during the Festival of India in London in 1982 when various Indian objects appeared publicly for the first time and were offered for sale. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi took a strong line against the looting of Indian treasures by "adventurers". In 1983, Education, Culture and Social Welfare Minister Sheila Kaul said India was ready to make a serious effort to retrieve its looted heritage. But there has since been little Indian pressure on Britain comparable to the efforts launched by Greece.

"Regrettably, the preservation of our past has never been our major concern," Ghorpade said. "It's no use making occasional noises. With the select committee now set up, the time has come for a determined effort by the government and by ordinary men and women to fight for our common national pride."

With its rich tradition and as a country to have sufferedthe most from centuries of loot, India should have taken the lead in this matter, Ghorpade said. "But why Greece, even Sri Lanka and Nigeria have been fighting harder to have their stolen treasures returned to them," he said.

"Museums in Britain are so laden with Indian treasures that they do not have room to display them and sometimes even to store them," Ghorpade said. The large Indian section in the Victoria and Albert Museum displays only one or two per cent of the collection from India which remains stored in its store houses, he claimed.

New laser technology makes it possible for British museums to continue to display perfect reproductions while returning lost treasures to India, Ghorpade said. "There can be a complete replicated sequence of all articles and the originals can be returned to the country of origin," he explained.

Not all British people now take pride in clinging to these looted treasures, Ghorpade said. "There is a new fashion even in political circles now to return these objects tothe country of origin," he added.

-- India Abroad News Service