Highlights
- Over 2,000 manuscripts from 15th to 19th century being returned.
- Texts bought from single Jain temple in Punjab for handful of rupees each.
- Collection includes earliest surviving Hindi medical treatise from 1592.
The foundation told The Times that Wellcome's agents bought more than half of the manuscripts from a single Jain temple in Punjab, now in modern-day Pakistan, which no longer exists.
The texts were purchased for a handful of rupees each and acquired against the best interests of their original owners.
The collection includes important historical works, such as what could be the earliest surviving copy of A Celebration of Physicians, a 1592 medical treatise written in Hindi.
It also contains a 19th-century text on Indian independence that inspired Mahatma Gandhi and an early illustrated 16th-century copy of the important Jain scripture, the Kalpasutra.
Return gets underway
Since the original Punjab temple has been destroyed, the manuscripts are initially being transferred to the Dharmanath Network in Jain Studies at the University of Birmingham.
Mehool Sanghrajka from the Institute of Jainology called the decision a "brave" move and "both pioneering and a model for other faith communities".
"We recognise that some of these manuscripts may not have survived the turmoil in India post-independence, and we are grateful to Wellcome for the care and respect they have shown these texts," Sanghrajka told The Times.
Daniel Martin, an associate director at the Wellcome Collection, described the agreement as a "landmark restitution", adding it sets "the bar high for a collaborative and compassionate approach to restitution that recognises the hurt caused by unethical acquisition".
Unlike the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, the Wellcome Collection is not prevented by law from returning items. The foundation stated that it is in talks with separate groups about returning other objects.
