Netherlands returns 11th century Chola Leiden Plates to India in The Hague ceremony

The Netherlands handed over 11th-century Chola copper plates to India on Saturday in The Hague, completing a repatriation ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten. The documents, known in Europe as the Leiden Plates, had been kept at Leiden University for more than a century, and the handover marked a long-running effort by India to recover the artefacts linked to Tamil and Chola history.

The copper plates consist of 21 large sheets and three smaller ones, bound together by a bronze ring bearing the Chola royal seal. Officials said the inscriptions are largely in Tamil, with texts also described as containing Sanskrit. According to the Indian government’s account, the plates record a royal endowment that formalised a commitment made by Chola ruler Rajendra Chola I in memory of his father, King Rajaraja Chola I. The grant is associated with Anaimangalam village and a Buddhist vihara connected to Nagapattinam in present-day Tamil Nadu, with references made to the Cholas’ administrative and cultural reach.

In describing the return, Modi said in a statement posted on X, “a joyous moment for every Indian.” He also thanked the Government of...