Rajapatni.com: Surabaya (11/11/24) – Great gratitude should be offered to God Almighty because with His blessing, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Fadli Zon, expressed his intention to repatriate the Pucangan (Calcutta Stone) inscription, which is currently in the Kolkata Museum, India.
This intention was conveyed by the Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, in a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Culture of India, Gajendra Singh Shakhawat, on the sidelines of the G20 Culture Ministers’ meeting in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, on November 8 2024.
This inscription from East Java, during the era of British rule in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), was brought to India to be handed over to a high-ranking British official located in the city of Kolkata. It was Thomas Stamford Raffles, who at that time served as Lieutenant Governor of the British Colonial Government whose office was in Batavia (now Jakarta).
In 1812, Raffles handed over the discovery of the inscription from East Java to his superior, the British Governor General in India, Lord Minto, who has office and lived in the city of Kolkata. The inscription was then kept and became part of the Minto family house in Kolkata. When Lord Minto’s family returned to Scotland, this inscription was not taken with them, but was kept in a museum in Kolkata, India.
The quick esponse of the Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, in this repatriation effort has been related to the support from various parties. One of them is the Surabaya Javanese Script Community, Puri Aksara Rajapatni. On October 23 2024, Puri Aksara Rajapatni sent a letter to President Prabowo Subianto and the Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, which was to forward a copy of the letter originally sent to the Indian Ambassador to Indonesia, Sandeep Chakravorty.
The letter to the Indian Ambassador contains a proposal for the repatriation of the Pucangan Inscription. Then a copy was sent to the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto, Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, Governor of East Java Andi Karyanto, Head of the East Java Regional Cultural Preservation Center (BPK) Endah Budi Heriyani and Advisor to Puri Aksara Rajapatni who is also a Surabaya cultural activist, A. Hermas Thony .
Before writing to Ambassador Sandeep Chakraborty, the Puri Aksara Rajapatni Community first coordinated with the Honorary Indian Consul in Surabaya, Manoj Bhat.
Based on instructions, direction and even editing of the contents of the letter, the repatriation proposal letter was finally sent to the Indian Ambassador in Jakarta.
According to A. Hermas Thony, this repatriation is a matter between the State and the State (G to G), but as part of society, Puri Aksara Rajapatni views the Pucangan Inscription as important for education, science, research, culture and tourism. So it is a wise attitude when the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Culture follows up.
“I think the Minister and even the President are very wise in responding to the concerns of the community who hope that the inscriptions from East Java can return. I also thank the government of the Republic of India for storing and safeguarding the historical objects that Raffles brought to India at the beginning of the 19th century. Hopefully this retriation will be a symbol of cultural friendship based on mutual understanding and respect,” concluded Thony, who is a Gerindra party cadre along with the Minister of Culture and President of Indonesia. (PAR/nng).