Anaimangalam (Leiden) Copper Plates Return to India From Netherlands
Why in the news
A Chola charter kept abroad for almost 200 years came home in May 2026, in a ceremony held in the Dutch seat of government.
Key facts
- Handed over by: the Netherlands, in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and Dutch PM Rob Jetten.
- Held by: Leiden University for nearly two centuries.
- Landmark: India’s first repatriation of any Chola-era plates.
- Subject: land at Anaimangalam village, near Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu), given for a Buddhist vihara.
- Vihara: the Chulamanivarma Vihara, honouring Sri Chudamani Varman, whose son Sri Mara Vijayotunga Varman ruled Sri Vijaya (Java); it was also named Raja Raja Cholan Perumpalli.
Rulers involved
| Ruler | Reign | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Raja Raja Chola I | 985-1014 CE | Gave the first gift order |
| Rajendra Chola I | 1014-1044 CE | Carried out the order |
| Kulottunga Chola I | 1070-1120 CE | Widened the grants after appeals from Javanese envoys |
Features of the plates
- Total of 24 plates: 21 large and 3 small.
- Large set: 5 Sanskrit and 16 Tamil plates; the small ones are in Tamil and record Kulottunga’s later grants.
- The binding ring carries a tiger (Chola), two fish (Pandya) and a bow (Chera), plus two chamaras, a parasol, lamps and a swastika; the fish and bow show Chola victories.
- Inscriptions: “Anaimangalam” in Tamil on the emblem, and a Sanskrit verse praising Rajendra Chola I; the small plates praise Kulottunga Chola I.
- Jesuit priests demolished the vihara tower in 1867, with the colonial Madras government agreeing.
Significance
- First return of Chola copper plates, reflecting India’s growing cultural-diplomacy drive to recover artefacts taken in colonial times; hundreds of antiquities have come back from several countries.
- They record contacts between Tamil Nadu and the Sri Vijaya empire (now Indonesia and Malaysia) via commerce, faith, language and royal support.
- They show the religious mix of the Chola court: a Saivite king supporting a Buddhist vihara.
- Archaeologist V. Vedachalam urged return of the Velvikkudi plates of Pandya ruler Parantaka Nedunchadaiyan (765-815 CE), now at the British Museum.
Background
- Cholas: peaked under Raja Raja I and Rajendra I as a maritime and military power reaching Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Southeast Asia.
- Raja Raja I: built the Brihadeeswarar temple at Thanjavur. Rajendra I: naval expedition to Sri Vijaya in 1025 CE; founded Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Kulottunga I: abolished toll taxes.
- Sri Vijaya: maritime empire centred on Sumatra (Palembang), 7th to 13th centuries CE, a hub of Mahayana Buddhism.
- Copper plate charters: royal grants on copper sheets strung on a sealed ring, serving as legal records.
- ASI: set up in 1861 under Alexander Cunningham, functions under the Ministry of Culture.
- Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 regulates export of antiquities; India is party to the UNESCO 1970 Convention.
Exam angle
- Also called: Leiden copper plates.
- Chola emblem: tiger; Pandya: fish; Chera: bow.
- Nodal ministry for ASI: Culture.