NEW DELHI: Following public outcry over the proposed auction of sacred Buddhist relics from Piprahwa, scheduled to take place in Hong Kong on Wednesday, India has taken strong diplomatic and legal measures to stop the sale. The Ministry of Culture has issued a legal notice to Sotheby’s—a leading multinational auction house—demanding the immediate withdrawal of the auction titled “The Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha, Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, circa 240–200 BCE.” The auction, set for Wednesday, includes relics excavated from the Piprahwa Stupa in 1898 by British colonial engineer William Claxton Peppé.
In addition to Sotheby’s, a notice has also been sent to Claxton Peppé’s descendants, including Chris Peppé. Responding to the notice, Sotheby’s Associate General Counsel Ivy Wong assured Indian officials that the matter has their "full attention," according to ministry sources.
Simultaneously, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has requested the Consulate General of India in Hong Kong to urge local authorities to intervene and prevent the auction.
The relics in question include bone fragments believed to belong to Gautama Buddha, housed in soapstone and crystal caskets, a sandstone coffer, and ceremonial offerings such as gold ornaments and gemstones. These artifacts were discovered in Piprahwa, a village in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar district, just a few kilometers from Lumbini, Nepal—the birthplace of Lord Buddha.
An inscription in Brahmi script on one of the caskets confirmed the relics’ identity as those of the Buddha, deposited by members of the Sakya clan. The majority of these relics were transferred to the Indian Museum in Kolkata in 1899 and are classified as “AA” antiquities under Indian law, meaning they cannot be sold or exported. However, a portion of the relics retained by the Peppé family is now listed for auction.
On Monday, the Culture Ministry convened a high-level review meeting to outline further steps. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been requested to engage with its embassies in the UK and Hong Kong to block the auction. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has also been tasked with working with its Hong Kong counterpart to highlight the auction’s illegality under international norms.
The issue was raised diplomatically last week, when Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat met with UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, Rt Hon Lisa Nandy, urging immediate action to stop the sale and repatriate the relics.
Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding urgent intervention. In his letter—also addressed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju—Ambedkar condemned the auction as “an insult to the sentiments of the Buddhist community and to the land of Buddha.”