Efforts to unseat British Prime Minister Keir Starmer from within his party broke into open rebellion on Thursday (May 15, 2026), with one potential rival resigning from the Cabinet and two others positioning themselves for a future leadership challenge
Jwala Gutta 'donated 60 litres of breast milk to government hospitals in Hyderabad and Chennai' in one year: Here is whyJwala Gutta highlighted the importance of donor milk for infants in NICUs. The badminton champion shared her journey of ‘donating 60 litres of breast milk’
Is pancreatic cancer hiding in plain sight? Gastroenterologist explains the silent red flags most people ignoreDr Saurabh Sethi warns that pancreatic cancer often progresses silently, with vague symptoms like back pain and weight loss easily ignored. Family Published on: May 15
Father breaks laptop, makes student sleep on floor over 57.4% in CBSE examsThe Reddit post has sparked a discussion on the toxic environment created by some Indian households during academic cycles. Published on: May 15, 2026 12:20 PM IST By HT Trending Desk Share via Copy link A heartbreaking
China called on Friday (May 15, 2026) for a lasting truce in the West Asia and for shipping lanes to be reopened “as soon as possible”, as the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed during the war with Iran. Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital strait since
How returning stolen artifacts can distort history rather than serve cultural justice
In late July, during a visit to the National Gallery of Australia, three Buddhist bodhisattva statues caught my attention.
All three were created in the ancient Champa Kingdom that flourished from the 2nd to 19th centuries across present-day Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. They were purchased by the National Gallery (NGA) in 2011, before being “repatriated” to the Kingdom of Cambodia in 2023 (and displayed in the NGA on loan).
But the Champa Kingdom bore little resemblance to Cambodia's current borders. What does repatriation mean when the political geography of a place has entirely transformed?
As my research has shown, museums, schools and state institutions can help sanction certain versions of history, while marginalising others. The quiet presence of the bodhisattvas in a museum case embodies much larger questions about cultural heritage, political legitimacy, and who gets to define historical “truth”.
The decision to return the Cham artefacts to Cambodia, and to exclude Vietnam and Laos, highlights how contemporary politics shape our understanding of cultural heritage.
The Cham people are an ethnic minority in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. In Cambodia, they have been marginalised by the ruling government's Khmer ethno-nationalist vision of the country.
Although most Cham people today are Muslim, the statues were made between the 9th and 11th centuries during a pre-Islamic era. This period was marked by strong Hindu and Buddhist influence, and a lack of nation-state borders.
After receiving the repatriated statues in 2023, Cambodian Ambassador to Australia, Cheunboran Chanborey, said: “Indeed, putting looted artefacts to their countries of origin can have significant and positive impacts on local communities and their involvement in preserving their cultural heritage. It can foster a sense of pride, national identity and cultural continuity as artefacts hold immense value for the communities to which they belong.”
But the very cultural tradition that created the bodhisattvas now finds itself sidelined in a modern nation-state claiming ownership of them.
The historical context of how the Cham poeple's artifacts were looted is crucial and disturbing.
Journalist Anne Davies' account in the NGA's documentation notes organised looting networks were “often headed by members of the military or the Khmer Rouge”. The Khmer Rouge was the political party that ruled Cambodia from 1975–79 under the notorious Pol Pot, carrying out a genocide of the Cham people (as well as other ethnic groups).
However, this looting actually took place in the 1990s, after the Khmer Rouge was overthrown by the precursors to the present-day Cambodian People's Party.
In other words, the looting happened on the current government's watch. Davies writes “members of the military” of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces worked with former Khmer Rouge soldiers who continued to occupy parts of northern Cambodia, especially areas protected by thick forest.
Looted artefacts moved from the hands of former Khmer Rouge members to the Cambodian military, and eventually to international markets.
A revealing 2009 photograph shows Douglas Latchford, the antiquities dealer who sold the statues to the NGA, examining artefacts at the National Museum of Cambodia, alongside Sok An, the then-deputy prime minister of the Cambodian People's Party. Latchford is wearing a medal signifying Cambodian knighthood, suggesting a collaborative relationship.
After retreating to border forests in 1979, the Khmer Rouge began systematic, illegal timber logging, selling the wood throughout Thailand and Cambodia. Global Witness has documented how the ruling elites in both countries have profited substantially from this trade.
The connections between logging and looting are striking: both involved illegal acts by former Khmer Rouge soldiers that ultimately enriched ruling parties.
When I saw photos of the Cambodian Ambassador to Australia formally receiving the repatriated statues in 2023, the irony was inescapable. His party, the Cambodian People's Party, was likely complicit in the original theft.
Historical context transforms repatriation's meaning. Rather than restoring cultural heritage to rightful guardians, these ceremonies may serve as elaborate exercises in political laundering, allowing those who profited from cultural destruction to rebrand themselves as cultural preservationists.
The implications of this extend far beyond Cambodia. In a world where borders have been redrawn countless times, and where many cultural traditions transcend boundaries, we need new frameworks for thinking about cultural heritage.
The NGA says it followed the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 in returning the bodhisattvas to Cambodia. But the wall text for the statues acknowledges their complexity: “While the works were almost certainly created in Vietnam […] the archaeological site where they were found is in Cambodia.”
The statutes were found in a different country from where they were created because the borders of those territories shifted over time.
Borders in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia have long been porous. It was only in 2012 that the last border marker between Cambodia and Vietnam was agreed on. We have also seen recent fighting over the Cambodian-Thai border.
Contested sovereignty remains a live political issue affecting how we understand cultural heritage. Is country of “origin” determined by where objects were created, or where they were discovered?
Perhaps genuine cultural justice requires acknowledging complexity rather than seeking simple solutions. Instead of asking which modern nation-state deserves these artifacts, we might ask: how can cultural heritage serve all peoples who share connections to it?
The three bodhisattvas remind us repatriation is never simply about returning objects to their “rightful” place. It's about who gets to define that place, whose version of history becomes officially sanctioned and whether cultural justice might sometimes serve to obscure, rather than remedy, historical injustice.
Will Brehm is Associate Professor of Comparative and International Education, University of Canberra.
This article was first published on The Conversation.
Source: Scroll
Related Posts: Works by Algerian-French artist vandalised at Kochi art gallery after ‘obscenity’ allegations Three products that changed how we live - and three that really didn Rani Mukerji Dedicates First National Award To Late Father Ram Mukherjee National Conference names three Rajya Sabha candidates for J&K Srinagar-Jammu National Highway reopens for heavy vehicles after three weeks China removes three retired generals from national advisory body National Conference wins three Rajya Sabha seats Pune woman says restaurant staff sent late-night texts after visit A beachside shooting throws Australia's three-decade gun control regime into question Three Indian cricketers take an Uber in Australia
When world leaders sit across a dining table, the food rarely serves a purely culinary purpose. This familiar setup with a strategic warmth was once again on display in Beijing, where Donald Trump and Xi Jinping sat down for a working lunch shaped as much by politics as palate
3 hours ago
India’s AI ecosystem is entering a new phase driven by collaborative platforms connecting builders, enterprises, and innovation communities at scale. As AI experimentation becomes more accessible, ecosystems such as ET AI Hackathon 2.0 are accelerating real-world innovation
3 hours ago
Rathindra Bose has been elected unopposed as the Speaker of the West Bengal assembly. He is the first legislator from North Bengal to hold this prestigious position. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari proposed his name. The BJP holds a strong majority in the assembly
3 hours ago
PM Modi landed, signed key deals, left UAE - all in 2 hours | Full list of pactsAmong the deals signed between India and the UAE during PM Modi's visit is agreement on framework for strategic defence partnership between both countries. Updated on: May 15
3 hours ago
The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday called custodial deaths the “worst kind of crime” and a “profound failure of the constitutional machinery”, while ordering fresh inquiries in 262 cases. The court ordered fresh judicial inquiries after it was informed that the state had bypassed
3 hours ago
Karuppu Twitter review: Suriya and Trisha Krishnan’s film gets a thumbs up, fans call it ‘paisa vasool’Karuppu Twitter review: Going by the early reactions, Karuppu seems to have struck the right chord, with many calling it a “solid commercial entertainer”. May 15, 2026
3 hours ago
-3 Kaymer (Ger), Scheffler (US), Smalley (US), Potgieter (SA), Jaeger (Ger), Lee (Aus), Hisatsune (Jpn); -2 Conners (Can), Reed (US), Lowry (Ire), Brown (Eng), Theegala (US), Greyserman (US), Schauffele (US) Selected others: -1 Thomas (US); Day (Aus), Smith (Aus), Rahm (Spa)
3 hours ago
Antique idol, brass items stolen from Chandni Chowk temple recovered; 2 heldAntique idol, brass items stolen from Chandni Chowk temple recovered; 2 held Published on: May 15, 2026 2:50 PM IST PTI Share via Copy link New Delhi, A 45-year-old burglar and a woman have been arrested for allegedly
3 hours ago
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday announced that the NEET UG exam will move to online mode from the next academic year, a move aimed at avoiding a rerun of the paper leak in 2026 that has left lakhs of students in a limbo. Addressing a press conference
3 hours ago
In the space of two days, India has crossed two pharmaceutical thresholds—one in the brain, one in the lung. Eli Lilly’s Lormalzi (donanemab), launched Wednesday, is the first drug available in India that goes after Alzheimer’s disease itself rather than just its symptoms
3 hours ago
Jaipur, May 15 (PTI) Two Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel and a person they had detained died after a speeding trailer rammed into their motorcycle on the Ajmer-Bhilwara National Highway in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, police said on Friday.Jaipur
3 hours ago
'Why is Bangalore rental situation this bad?': Woman says landlord ‘randomly’ hiked rent by ₹4,000 a montha Bengaluru woman’s video about her landlord allegedly increasing her rent by ₹4,000 a month has sparked a discussion around the city’s rental crisis. Updated on: May 15
3 hours ago
JBL at 80: Dave Rogers talks audio revolutions, engineering, India and AI tuningAs it was 80 years ago with innovations that defined the D130 and L100, Rogers insists JBL’s engineers set out to define industry benchmarks Published on: May 15
3 hours ago
A viral Reddit post shared shortly after the declaration of Central Board of Secondary Education Class 12 results has triggered discussion online around academic pressure, toxic parenting and mental health among students in India. The post, which included a photograph of a shattered laptop lying on
3 hours ago
The US has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia's second-most powerful AI chip, the H200, but not a single delivery has been made so far, three people familiar with the matter said, leaving a major technology deal in limbo as CEO seeks a breakthrough in China this week.Huang
6 hours ago
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (May 14, 2026) announced that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would be making a reciprocal visit to the White House on September 24. “Thank you again, President Xi, for this beautiful welcome, and tonight, it is my honour to extend an invitation to you
6 hours ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions.This simple travel hack can make sure you stay hydrated during your vacationsA water bottle sling bag keeps hydration close at hand and saves you from carrying a heavy backpack through
6 hours ago
CEO spends ₹96 lakh a year for roles that bring ‘zero revenue’, shares whyThe CEO’s post about roles that are important even if they don't generate revenue has resonated with many. Published on: May 15, 2026 8:34 AM IST By Trisha Sengupta Share via Copy link Many founders view hiring
6 hours ago
' South Korean said on Friday it remained committed to a planned strike starting next week, even after the company proposed resuming without conditions, sending shares down as much as 5.9%.Government-mediated negotiations between the union and the company over pay and bonus schemes collapsed this
6 hours ago
NFR installs automatic weather stations to improve railway safety during monsoonNFR installs automatic weather stations to improve railway safety during monsoon Updated on: May 15, 2026 11:11 AM IST PTI Share via Copy link Guwahati, The Northeast Frontier Railway on Friday said it has started
6 hours ago
Apple’s two-year-old partnership with OpenAI has become strained, with the AI startup failing to see the expected benefits from its deal with the iPhone maker and preparing possible legal action, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday
6 hours ago
Indian markets open lower as fuel price hike dampens investor sentimentOn Friday, Indian equity markets opened down amid a national fuel price hike. The BSE Sensex fell 64.22 points, while Nifty IT gained. Published on: May 15, 2026 10:07 AM IST ANI Share via Copy link Indian equity markets opened
6 hours ago
Iran’s Foreign Minister accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of direct involvement in military operations against his country during a BRICS meeting in New Delhi on Thursday (May 14, 2026), Iranian state media reported. The spat comes a day after the UAE denied a statement by
6 hours ago
Gita Gopinath calls out lack of female representation at US-China high-level talksGita Gopinath's post about the all-male Xi-Trump meet has gone viral. Published on: May 15, 2026 10:06 AM IST By Trisha Sengupta Share via Copy link Former first Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary
6 hours ago
‘Breach in command chain, we take responsibility’: Govt after NEET paper leakAddressing a press conference, union minister Dharmendra Pradhan vowed strong action against those responsible for the NEET-UG paper leak. Updated on: May 15, 2026 11:13 AM IST By HT News Desk Share via Copy link Days
6 hours ago
WBJEE Admit Card 2026 released at wbjeeb.nic.in, download link hereWBJEE Admit Card 2026 has been released. The direct link to download the hall ticket is given here. Updated on: May 15, 2026 11:03 AM IST By HT Education Desk | Edited by Papri Chanda Share via Copy link West Bengal Joint Entrance
6 hours ago
Avocado toast has gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. It has become a breakfast staple, available across several cafes and restaurants. This summer season, give it a seasonal twist by adding another fan-favourite – the mango! This mango‑avocado toast is a sunny
6 hours ago
