148 - Bringing Back Our Gods | S. Vijay Kumar | India Pride Project | Bharatvaarta | Culture

Shri. S. Vijay Kumar is a Singapore-based finance and shipping expert  who is general manager of a leading ocean transportation company. In  2007–08 he started a blog on Indian art and thereafter in 2010 got  involved with both Indian and United States law enforcement agencies  that were investigating cases of idol theft and smuggling. His book The  Idol Thief is based on his association with these agencies. Vijay has  played a role in the arrests of several idol thieves and smugglers. He  has also successfully matched several stolen idols with pieces that have  been acquired by museums, thereby ensuring their repatriation to India.   In this episode, we speak about the returning of artefacts to India by  President Joe Biden, and the journey of how they were brought to India.  We also explored the changing global mindset and many topics on artefact  theft.