Centre for South Asian Studies

Description

Emiline Smith, Criminology, University of Glasgow will present on “We Never Thought They Would Steal Our Gods. In One Day, Everything Was Gone”: Cultural & Natural Resources Trafficked from, through and to South Asia'

The global trade in cultural and natural resources reduces invaluable, essential resources to mere commodities with a price tage, thereby causing their widespread looting and trafficking. Yet many cultural and environmental harms have long been considered elite, victimless crimes. As a result, they are often a low priority for governmental actors, policymakers, law enforcement and other crime prevention stakeholders. However, as will be explored in this lecture, the looting and trafficking of cultural and natural resources has caused intergenerational harms and injustice, severely impacting individuals, communities, and nations around the world.  

In recent years, questions around the ownership of, agency over and access to cultural and natural resources are slowly gaining more prominence in both academic and public narratives, primarily as a result of increasing repatriation claims from African and Asia-Pacific stakeholders. South Asia has traditionally been an important source for many cultural and natural resources. Building on recent fieldwork, this lecture will employ case studies from Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Nepal to highlight how South Asia also function as transit and market for the global trade in cultural and natural resources. In addition, the lecture will consider the criminogenic potential of the trade in cultural and natural resources, and the harmful consequences for communities that have long been victims of epistemic, social, environmental and other injustices. Finally, the lecture will consider potential pathways to rectify these injustices and restore agency, access & ownership to origin communities.