SHILLONG:
The conversation demanding the return of the Kohinoor diamond to India has been reignited after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the monarch of Britain with the longest reign.
The world’s biggest and most contentious diamond should be returned to its nation of origin, people said on social media in the hours following the announcement of the Queen’s passing at her Scottish home in Balmoral.
The Queen’s daughter-in law, Camilla (the Duchess of Cornwall), who has been designated as the Queen consort of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms by virtue of being the wife of King Charles III, is likely to inherit the prized diamond, which is currently set in the Imperial State Crown.
Kohinoor was first made in 1937 for King George VI’s coronation and then passed to Queen Elizabeth II. Last seen donning the crown for the 2016 State Opening, was the Queen. The Crown is made up of 269 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 2,868 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Who does it really belong to?
The Kohinoor, a 105.6-carat brilliant diamond that literally translates to “Mountain of Light,” is a stone with a rich past. According to legend, Alauddin Khalji, the ruler who governed Delhi from 1296 to 1316, purchased it from an Indian mine. It has been in numerous hands over the centuries since it was found in the Golconda mines of India in the 14th century. Known as the “Mountain of Light,” Kohinoor is a large, colourless diamond. At least four nations, including India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, claim ownership of the priceless stone, which was acquired by the British during the colonial era.
Some historians claim that the Kohinoor was given to the British in 1849 as a result of a punitive agreement made with the Maharaja of Lahore following the Anglo-Sikh war. In 1847, the mother of Maharaja Duleep Singh was taken away and transferred to Britain. The diamond was “given” to Britain at the age of 10 in accordance with the contract. Since then, it has been a piece of the British Crown Jewels, although there has long been controversy over who is the rightful owner.
The diamond is subject to claims from both Pakistan and India. Pakistan contends that it was taken from the Sikh empire of Lahore and does not belong to modern-day India. Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s descendants have asserted ownership of the gem and demanded its return. The Kohinoor is said to belong to the Afghans for a similar reason.
According to an article from The Guardian published in 2000, the Taliban requested that the Queen return the Kohinoor to Afghanistan because, in their narrative, Ranjit Singh coerced Durranis into giving it up. All of the Sikh empire’s possessions, including the Kohinoor diamond, were seized after Punjab was conquered in 1849 and placed in the Lahore treasury of the British East India Company. The Diamond was given to the Queen in July 1850 while she was in Britain, and it was later altered to fit within the Queen’s crown.
Folklore holds that the Kohinoor is a sign of bad luck for male wearers; only God or a woman is safe from harm when wearing it. Given the Kohinoor’s turbulent history filled with intrigue, violence, and battle, the mythology seems to have its roots there.
Efforts made in the past to reacquire the Kohinoor Diamond
The Kohinoor diamond was requested by the Indian government shortly after it gained independence. It thought India had a right to it, but its appeal was ignored. A second request is alleged to have been made in 1953, the year Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. The British, however, denied India’s assertions for a second time and insisted that ownership was non-negotiable. Many Indians asked that Queen Elizabeth II return the diamond when she visited the country in 1997 to commemorate 50 years of independence from the United Kingdom.
Kuldip Nayar, a former Indian high commissioner to the UK, introduced a petition in the Rajya Sabha to demand the return of the diamond in the late 1900s. Over 50 members of the parliament, including Manmohan Singh, the opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha at the time, signed it. But nothing came of the plea.
A letter demanding the return of the diamond was signed by a few members of the Parliament in 2000. According to the letter, it was taken unlawfully. However, Britain said that there were numerous claims to the diamond, making it impossible to determine who owned it.
India came very close to finding some resolution to the priceless diamond in April 2016 after the administration informed the Supreme Court that it was neither stolen nor forcibly seized. According to the centre, the Kohinoor diamond was legally transferred to the Queen of England and India had no right to assert ownership of the stone because it had been legally transferred to the British under the treaty that Ranjit Singh had signed.
According to the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act of 1972, the Archaeological Survey of India is only permitted to recover things that were forcibly transported outside of India; items that were taken out before independence were not included.