Kathmandu: More than 800 historical documents relating to Nepal’s political, legal, intellectual and cultural heritage, which had been housed in a private museum in Germany, have been handed back to the Himalayan nation.
The documents, some of which date back to the 13th century, were handed over to the National Archives of Nepal on Friday at a function in Kathmandu, according to a statement issued by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ancient palm-leaf manuscripts, royal decrees, court orders, legal documents, Sanskrit texts and historical travel accounts are among the documents repatriated to Nepal from Germany before their formal handover on Friday.
The collection was originally part of the private holdings of the late Joseph Peter Rindfleisch.
His son, Walter Rindfleisch, handed the documents to Professor Axel Michaels of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities under Heidelberg University. Michaels and his team members, Dr. Manik Bajracharya and Rajan Khatiwada, subsequently handed over the documents to Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal.
Michaels and Walter Rindfleisch were friends, which paved the way for Michaels to take the lead in facilitating the return of the documents to Nepal.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s statement, the documents were collected from Nepal between the 1780s and the 1990s.
During the handover ceremony, Foreign Minister Khanal said the return of the documents represented the restoration of Nepal’s cultural rights and sovereign ownership over its civilisational heritage.
“Our art, literature, traditions and sacred scriptures are not merely physical remnants; they are the living soul of our civilisation. They carry centuries of philosophical thought, political governance, legal knowledge and spiritual life,” he said.
Khanal recalled the late Rindfleisch’s wish to return more than 800 important Nepali documents from his private collection and praised his respect for Nepal’s cultural heritage.
The collection, gathered from Nepal between the 1780s and the 1990s, comprises more than 800 royal and official documents, including palm-leaf manuscripts, rukkas (official orders) and lal mohars (royal decrees bearing a red seal).
The collection was preserved and catalogued by the Heidelberg University Library and the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities before being repatriated to Nepal in cooperation with the Government of Nepal.
According to the catalogue, the collection includes 465 palm-leaf manuscripts from the Malla period, including lal mohars; 312 legal decrees and royal documents from the Shah and Rana periods, including documents bearing clay seals; 18 manuscripts and travel diaries from the offices of Rana prime ministers; and 11 manuscripts covering various subjects, according to the ministry’s statement.
Some of the palm-leaf manuscripts are among the oldest surviving documents from Nepal.
Khanal praised Professor Michaels and his research team for their role in identifying, documenting and repatriating the materials, saying their academic integrity, research and sustained efforts had made the return possible.
The repatriation was carried out through collaboration among the Embassy of Nepal in Germany, Heidelberg University, the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Saraf Foundation and the National Archives.
Khanal also noted that Nepal and Germany are both parties to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
He said the handover demonstrated the two countries’ shared commitment to the principles of the international convention.
“Today’s handover is an important example of our shared international commitment. We highly appreciate the active support extended by the German government, the German Embassy in Kathmandu and Heidelberg University in facilitating the smooth return of these documents,” he said.
(IANS)
