Bringing Tara Home: Can International Law Help Sri Lanka to Return the Most Revered Cultural Object from Britain?

Abstract Sri Lanka underwent series of colonial domination under European powers and the cultural heritages revered by the inhabitants were at perilous risk at the hands of the colonizers. Tara Devi is an icon embodying the religious and cultural uniqueness of the Buddhist civilization of Sri Lankan from the Anuradhapura era. Tara Devi was taken away during the early part of the British administration and now it is being kept in the British museum in London. This paper in an attempt in tracing the colonial injustice of the British from an international law perspective, which equally reflects the parochial realities of the prevailing eurocentrism. While tracing British claim for keeping Tara Devi at their possession, this article takes into the account of the enraging narratives international law in a decolonized context. The results arising from this work unfolds the hard realities that encompasses the Global South in attaining the justice under international legal framework.