GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 10th September. The word “Kohinoor” began trending on Indian Twitter shortly after British monarch Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8.
Koh-i-Noor, which translates to ‘Mountain of Light,’ was once one of the largest cut diamonds in the world. It was mined in India and passed down for centuries from one ruling dynasty to the next.
The diamond was sifted from sand in India’s alluvial mines thousands of years ago. According to Hindu belief, it was revered by gods such as Krishna—despite the fact that it appeared to be cursed, based on the fortunes of its owners. The gem, later known as the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, made its way through Indian court intrigues before ending up in the British Crown Jewels by the mid-1800s. That is when a British amateur geologist interviewed gemologists and historians about the diamond’s origins and wrote the Koh-i-Noor history, which served as the foundation for most subsequent stories about the diamond.
It was a nod to one of the world’s most famous jewels. The 105-carat oval-shaped brilliant is just one of 2,800 stones set in the crown made for Elizabeth’s mother, known as the Queen Mother—but it is the proverbial jewel in the crown.
It is notorious in India for the manner in which it was acquired by the British.
The Kohinoor’s History
It was estimated to be 793 carats uncut when it was mined in what is now modern-day Andhra Pradesh during the Kakatiyan dynasty of the 12th-14th centuries. The earliest record of its possession dates from the 16th century, when it was in the hands of Moguls. The Persians took it next, followed by the Afghans.
After capturing it from Afghan leader Shah Shujah Durrani, Sikh Maharajah Ranjit Singh returned it to India. The British then took control of it during the annexation of Punjab. The stone was obtained by the East India Company in the late 1840s, after the 10-year-old Maharajah Dunjeep Singh was forced to surrender his lands and possessions.
The gem was then presented to Queen Victoria by the company. Her consort, Prince Albert, requested that it be recut, and it was placed in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary before being placed in the Queen Mother’s crown in 1937.
Britain’s contentious ownership of the Kohinoor diamond
While no plans for the gem’s future have been revealed, the possibility of it remaining in the U.K. Many Twitter users in India have demanded its return.
“Give it back if the King isn’t going to wear Kohinoor,” one wrote.
Another claim was that the diamond was “stolen” by the British, who “made money” from “death,” “famine,” and “looting.”
The British are believed to have received the Kohinoor in 1849 as part of a retaliatory agreement with the Maharaja of Lahore following the Anglo-Sikh conflict. The stone weighed 186 carats at the time. After being separated from his mother, Maharaja Duleep Singh was transported to Britain in 1847. When he was only ten years old, he was forced to “donate” the diamond to Britain.
Since then, it has been part of the British Crown Jewels, though there is still a long-standing ownership dispute involving at least four countries, including India.
It is not the first time that the return of the diamond has been sought. When India gained independence in 1947, the government demanded the diamond be returned. In the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, India made another demand.
These demands were met with deafening silence in the United Kingdom. Claiming that there are no legal grounds for restitution of the Kohinoor to India.
Saurav Dutt, a British-Indian author and political commentator, believes the United Kingdom’s chances are slim. The chances of returning the jewel are slim. True, the British recently facilitated the return to the Nigerian government of the Benin Bronzes, 72 artifacts looted by British soldiers in the nineteenth century. But, according to Dutt, the British royal establishment is still “married to this romantic version of empire, even though it is long dead and has lost its power,” and the Kohinoor is a symbol of that power, and turning it over would “essentially be eviscerating themselves.”
These demands were met with deafening silence in the United Kingdom. Claiming that there are no legal grounds for restitution of the Kohinoor to India.
Saurav Dutt, a British-Indian author and political commentator, believes the United Kingdom’s chances are slim. The chances of returning the jewel are slim. True, the British recently facilitated the return to the Nigerian government of the Benin Bronzes, 72 artifacts looted by British soldiers in the nineteenth century. But, according to Dutt, the British royal establishment is still “married to this romantic version of empire, even though it is long dead and has lost its power,” and the Kohinoor is a symbol of that power, and turning it over would “essentially be eviscerating themselves.”
According to Dutt, King Charles III must at the very least acknowledge the “dark history” of the Kohinoor diamond.
“A recognition that it was obtained through deception and stealth would be a significant step at this stage, laying the groundwork for the next generation to be able to give it back,” he tells TIME.
Many Indians may not be so patient. Following the Queen’s death, there is only one demand on Indian Twitter: “Can we please get our #Kohinoor back?” ”
We are certain to play a leading role in defending democratic values across many nations once we achieve financial dominance. We are likely to play pivotal roles in organizations such as the United Nations and others. That is when Britain would apologize for their misrule in India and return everything we had lost. Britain would do this to build goodwill, and the day is not far away. Many of us will be there to witness it.
The UK continues to insist that the diamond was a gift, and unless proven otherwise, they are unlikely to consider a return. Having reached the apex of a very slippery slope, British authorities are almost certain to decide that maintaining the status quo is the path of least resistance.
