By Akhilesh Pillalamarri
Tony Abbott finalizes a nuclear deal with Narendra Modi, signaling stronger relations between India and Australia.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to improve India’s relations with its neighbors successfully continues, with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott visiting India this week.
Abbott arrived in India on Thursday for a two day visit, starting in Mumbai. On Friday, he met Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi. This was their first meeting.
Abbott personally returned two looted 900-year old statutes of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and transformation, to Modi, arguing that returning the sculptures was “testimony to Australia’s good citizenship on such matters and the importance with which Australia views its relationship with India.” The statues had previously been stolen by an Indian dealer who sold them to Australian art galleries.
One of the two statutes, the statue of Nataraja, the dancing form of Shiva, was considered especially important. Nataraja’s whirling form represents the fact that destruction can become creation and degeneration, regeneration. Australia’s return of the statue comes at an interesting time, because Australia’s relationship with India is following a similar pattern of rebirth after a period of distance.
Read the full story at The Diplomat