washington theres very little antiquity in usindia ties unless you count exchange of ice and spice between the two countries going back only some 200 years but that has not stopped washington from recognizing and respecting the value of 2000year old antiques and artifacts from india on monday the united states formally began the process of returning to india stolen treasures that could be worth hundreds of million of dollars when the practice and procedure of returning such purloined items is institutionalized for starters prime minister narendra modi personally received from us attorney general loretta lynch a dozen such treasures which he described as priceless at a quiet ceremony soon after his arrival at blair house across from the white house among the pieces lined up for the prime minister to review was a statue of saint manikkavichavakar a hindu mystic and poet from the chola period circa 850 ad to 1250 ad which was stolen from the sivan temple in chennai and is valued at 15 million also in the first lot is a bronze sculpture of the ganesh estimated to be 1000 years old and a jain figure of bahubali some 200 more pieces more pieces stolen from india and hawked by art dealers notably a man named subhash kapoor to museums and private collections across the us will be returned immediately much more perhaps up to 3000 pieces will follow as the two sides begin institutionalized cooperation to sweep up such items across the us setting a template for similar indian efforts elsewhere the united states is committed to ensuring that no nation is robbed of the objects that inform its identity shape its traditions and inspire its citizens attorney general lynch said at the handing over ceremony describing the 200 antiques and cultural artifacts that are beginning their journey home as speaking to indias astounding history and beautiful culture she hoped the repatriation will serve as a sign of our great respect for indias culture our deep admiration for its people and our sincere appreciation for the ties between our nations the man who allegedly stole then exhibited no such sentiment the majority of the pieces being repatriated were seized during operation hidden idol an investigation that began in 2007 after homeland security special agents received a tip about a shipment of seven crates destined for the united states manifested as marble garden table sets examination of the shipment in question revealed numerous antiquities imported by subhash kapoor owner of art of the past gallery who now awaits trial in india investigations later revealed that kapoor had hawked the artifacts not only to private collections but also to acclaimed institutions such as the honolulu museum and peabody essex museum who eventually partnered with hsi to surrender illicit cultural property stemming from kapoor hsi special agents have since executed a series of search warrants targeting kapoors new york city gallery along with warehouses and storage facilities linked to the dealer seizing artifacts worth