> maybe we do owe them all an apology and some hard cash.
I would think this is a terrible idea. For example, my government might actually take it into its head to ask (yet again) that we get the Kohinoor diamond back :)
Um, no argument either way - I just believe a lump of crystalline carbon can collect dust equally well in one museum as another.
More seriously, given that pretty much all of history is rife with examples of transfer of wealth from one place to another. it's better to (try to) not make the same mistake again, rather than fixing the past.
(btw, I'm not an Indian)