New Delhi, Nov. 17 -- The British Museum has agreed to loan one of Assam's most sacred Vaishnavite religious artefacts, a 16th-century silk fabric piece called Brindabani Bastra to the state for the first time and an agreement is being signed between the two countries, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has left on an official visit to London, has said. The development, being seen as a significant cultural moment for the state, comes on the back of persistent efforts by the Assam government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been especially keen on it, the chief minister said in Delhi before leaving for the UK capital. India has offered a sovereign guarantee regarding the safekeeping of the artefact and its return to the UK after an agreed date, potentially 18 months. A state-of-the-art museum is being built in Guwahati for housing it, which will be ready in 2027, Sarma said. While the land was provided by the state government, the museum is being funded under corporate social responsibility of the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW group of companies. Brindabani Bastra, literally cloth of Vrindavan, is a nearly 10-metre long piece of Assam silk fabric handwoven by local artisans with motifs of the Hindu god Krishna. It was created on the instructions of Sri Srimanta Sankaradeva, the widely revered 16th century neo-Vaishnav religious figure of Assam, at request of king Nara Narayan, the last ruler of undivided Koch dynasty. "Everyone in Assam revers the Brindabani Bastra but except for those who have visited museums abroad, nobody has ever seen it. It is an invaluable part of Assam's history and civilisation," Sarma said. According to local historians, pieces of the textile were believed to have been carted out to first Tibet during the 17th-18th century, from where Britishers collected it. The silk article itself was cut into several parts and the British Museum acquired the largest piece in 1904. Museums in Paris and Los Angeles acquired two other segments. Officials of the British Museum had visited Assam earlier this year and asked for a high-security modern museum to house the collection as part of a set of pre-conditions....