Why India should root for the return of the Elgin marbles
Manidipa Mandal -
Thursday, July 09, 2009 1:25 PM
"Both sides stand on shaky ground," prevaricates NYT critic
Michael Kimmelman, in today's Business of Life lead story.
The Greeks, never in fear of racial stereotyping, have been
emphatic in their demands.
(What's to worry about? Everyone just knows they are the guys with the
big weddings, the voluble chatter, the long community lunches, dinners and and
dances, the quick and loud tempers a la Hollywood cabbies --- and all that
surprisingly, uncharacteristically subtle and contemplative, ancient art and
literature, as well as balanced modern views on them.)
The British have been characteristically (dare I say,
imperially, even imperiously?) starchy and condescending in their response.
Critics beyond these national fences are, well,
fence-sitting,
paternalistic
or indignant. Or appealing to nobler English
sentiments of fair play.
Indian art and culture critics seem to hardly have taken
notice, though --- and yet they should. For the sake of the peacock throne and
the Kohinoor that has become a ‘Crown Jewel' in quite the wrong crown. They sit
in British hands, like the stigma of imperialism. Gazed on out of context, a
continuation and reinforcement of the myth of exotic East, of bejewelled India
peppered with elephants on every street, a cow and a turbaned fakir at every
traffic light (a la Tintin),
a peacock in every garden. May I venture to suggest that the backdrop of a real
Delhi, plagued equally by BMWs and beggars, would be more culturally
educational for gazers-upon?
The argument of "world heritage" for "global consumption"
falls flat to my ears. Why not argue the same about Nazi relics? Because of course
to the victor belong the spoils, and the right to write history. Yet surely
imperialism is a memory that should be as severely ousted as genocide? Or do I,
a Third World citizen of a developing nation, speak out of turn?
To those who argue that it sets a poor precedent which could
empty prized collections: I agree---that is the point, precisely. The precedent
for emptying out poorer collections has long been set, and the need is for
perspective, preferably a global and non-parochial, anti-imperial one, to be
restored. No longer is Greece, or for that matter India, a beleaguered nation
incapable of protecting its heritage and waiting for divine (White missionary)
intervention for their salvation. Where, for that matter, was Big Collector
Brother when Buddha fell to bits in Afghanistan? No, the white man's burden begs to be put down, and aspirants
to global citizenship must acknowledge the entirety of the globe as capable
hosts of culture... or there is no democracy in this world.