Yesterday I made my second installment-visit to the British museum. I visited only the South-Asia and China section. I was interested in seeing what 'parts' of India were brought overseas and on display. "Luckily" not much (atleast, on display)! There were bits and pieces of odd things from the early days of the Indus civilization, with a portion of the display hall dedicated to each region of the country over the years; mostly the 'golden' period of that particular era.
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| A statue of Lord Vishnu |
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| An exquisitely carved Sarinda, a sort of Indian violin (description below) |
Then there was this... the sword and ring of Tipu Sultan. Remembered reading some controversy about its possession some years ago.
Had sometime ago read about the British woman spy Noor Inayat. Didn't know though that she was related to Tipu Sultan.
Did see some odd things though: the passport of Guru Dutt, a saree of an Indian woman activist in Britain, the movie certificate of Mother India, ... but I guess display of other artifacts collected from India during the four decades of British rule would be too controversial. So they must be tucked away somewhere else (in the crown of the Queen?). But certainly and luckily nothing colossal like the Egyptian or African gallery below.
Then there was this... the sword and ring of Tipu Sultan. Remembered reading some controversy about its possession some years ago.
Had sometime ago read about the British woman spy Noor Inayat. Didn't know though that she was related to Tipu Sultan.
Did see some odd things though: the passport of Guru Dutt, a saree of an Indian woman activist in Britain, the movie certificate of Mother India, ... but I guess display of other artifacts collected from India during the four decades of British rule would be too controversial. So they must be tucked away somewhere else (in the crown of the Queen?). But certainly and luckily nothing colossal like the Egyptian or African gallery below. 
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