External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh's statement in Parliament on Taliban's decree to destroy religious statues in Afghanistan

New Delhi, 
March 02, 2001 

In the face of universal concern and despite protests and cautions against taking any such step, the Taliban appear bent upon committing a grave wrong, indeed, a sacrilege to humanity, to the civilisational and cultural inheritance of all mankind by wanting to destroy the incomparable and unique statues of Buddha at Bamiyan. It is tragic that this act of vandalism, the most extreme amongst the many other acts of destruction of statues, artifacts and archaeological treasures of Afghanistan is being pursued despite a global outcry against it.

This regression into medieval barbarism is precisely what India, amongst many other countries, has been cautioning the world against for so long. The international community has unequivocally condemned and rejected the Taliban's ideological orientations which have been responsible for the Taliban territories emerging as the world's principal centre of international terrorism, illicit drugs and violation of human rights, especially those of women. 

Even at this late stage, we would like to convey that the destruction of these precious manifestations of the cultural heritage of humankind should stop. If the Taliban do not wish to retain this inheritance, India would be happy to arrange for the transfer of all these artifacts to India where they would be kept safely and preserved for all mankind, in the full knowledge and clear understanding that they are, in the first place and above all, treasures of the Afghan people themselves.