Netherlands Returns 11th-Century Chola Copper Plates To India
What’s in the news?
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presented with the historic 11th-century Chola Copper Plates by authorities of Leiden University during his official visit to the Netherlands.
- The copper plates were taken to the Netherlands during Dutch colonial rule on the Coromandel Coast in the 18th century.
- Known as the Leiden Copper Plates, the collection consists of 21 large and three small copper plates bound by a bronze ring bearing the seal of Chola king Rajendra Chola I.
- Five plates contain inscriptions in Sanskrit, while sixteen are inscribed in Tamil. Another set of plates, carrying the seal of Kulottunga Chola I, also contains Tamil inscriptions.
Significance
- The copper plates are regarded as one of the most valuable records of the Chola Empire, detailing its administration, taxation, land reforms, irrigation systems, and trade practices.
- The inscriptions also highlight the dynasty’s religious harmony, recording the grant of Anaimangalam village for a Buddhist vihara established by the Srivijaya rulers of Southeast Asia.
- Historians believe the plates provide rare evidence of strong maritime, diplomatic, and cultural links between South and Southeast Asia nearly a thousand years ago.