After a wait of 127 years, India’s heritage has returned and the nation’s treasured legacy has come back home: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi

• Piprahwa Relics = sacred relics linked to Lord Buddha, excavated 1898 from Piprahwa Stupa (Siddharthnagar, UP), historically tied to ancient Kapilavastu.
• A portion (gem relics) held abroad for 127 years was repatriated to India on 30 July 2025 after the Ministry of Culture halted a Sotheby's Hong Kong auction (May 2025).
• PM Modi inaugurated the "Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One" exposition on 3 January 2026 at Rai Pithora Cultural Complex, New Delhi.
• Relevant for GS-I (Art & Culture), GS-II (cultural diplomacy) and antiquity-repatriation policy.