VISAKHAPATNAM: After the successful repatriation of the Leiden Copper Plate charters from the Netherlands to India, efforts are now underway to bring back seven historic copper plate charters currently preserved at the Edinburgh University Library in Scotland, United Kingdom.
The copper plate charters, dating between the 5th and 16th centuries CE, are considered important historical records that provide insights into India’s political, cultural and administrative history.
“Of the seven charters, six were originally collected from present-day Andhra Pradesh and one from Gujarat by noted civil servant and scholar Sir Walter Elliot during the 19th century. The plates were later donated to the Edinburgh University Library in 1947 by Major Hans F Eggeling,” stated K Munirathnam Reddy, Director (Epigraphy), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The charters include the Mangalur charter of Pallava Maharaja Simhavarman II (444 CE), the Uruvapalli charter of Pallava Maharaja Simhavarman II (447 CE), the charter of Gurjara king Dadda II Prashantaraga (638 CE), the charter of Western Chalukya emperor Vijayaditya Satyashraya (700 CE), the charter of Eastern Chalukya king Vijayaditya III (9th century CE), and two Vijayanagara-era charters belonging to emperors Narasimha Raya II (1504 CE) and Sriranga II (1508 CE).
The ASI Director stated that preliminary discussions had begun regarding the repatriation of the copper plates to India. “The charters are valuable cultural artefacts that throw light on various aspects of Indian history and heritage,” he noted.
The Netherlands formally returned a set of 11th century Chola-era copper plates to India on May 17 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the European country. Known as the Leiden Copper Plates, the royal charters had been preserved for more than a century at the University’s Asian Library. The collection comprises 21 large and three small copper plates bound together by a bronze ring bearing the royal seal of Chola king Rajendra Chola I.
