Indians demand the return of the Kohinoor after Britain’s decision to rework the royal crown
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Schenelle Dsouza- 6 minutes read
Schenelle Dsouza
The death of Queen Elizabeth II and the upcoming coronation of King Charles has brought in a fair amount of controversy for the British monarchy. But one controversy that has the world’s attention is that surrounding the infamous Kohinoor Diamond.
So what started this conversation?
A few weeks ago, it was reported that Queen Mary’s crown would be reworked for King Charles’ coronation in May, to be worn by the Queen Consort, Camilla. But interestingly, the crown is said to be reset without the Kohinoor replica. Instead, it will be fitted with diamonds from the late Queen Elizabeth’s personal collections.
Koh-i-Noor
Almost everyone in the world knows about the Kohinoor diamond. But for those of you who don’t, here’s a little history about one of the world’s most famous diamond.
The Kohinoor is a large colourless diamond weighing 105.6 carats that was originally mined in India in the Kollur Mine (present-day Andhra Pradesh). From there it went through many hands including Allauddin Khilji in the 14th century followed by Emperor Babur in 1526 and Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1813 among others. The diamond was eventually taken by the British in 1849, post signing the Last Treaty of Lahore, and presented to Queen Victoria in England.
Unhappy about the original look of the diamond, the British had the Kohinoot cut and shaped multiple times to give it the look it has today. This diamond was then set in the front of Queen Mary’s crown at her investiture in 1911. However, after being transferred to Queen Elizabeth II for her and King George VI’s coronation in 1937, the original Kohinoor was swapped for a replica. Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022 was the last time the crown was publicly seen with the Kohinoor diamond.
Debates
While we know that the Kohinoor diamond was mined in India, the question of its ownership is still a matter of dispute with India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan all fighting their claim.
The decision to not include the Kohinoor in the crown anymore might come off as a sweet gesture. But is it enough? Desi netizens don’t think so. Although a polite way to disconnect from the bloodshed associated with Britain’s past, the gesture was merely that, a gesture. The better thing to do would be to return the diamond back to India, something that all Indians and those of Indian origin seem to agree upon. Although this perspective too has been met with its fair share of debate.
To put into perspective, a recent episode of British breakfast television show Good Morning Britain showcased a heated debate between Indian-origin British journalist Narinder Kaur and broadcaster Emma Webb. While Kaur argued that the diamond belonged to India since it was mined in India, Webb lashed back claiming that the history of the diamond seemed ambiguous.
“The ruler was also the ruler of Lahore so is Pakistan going get a claim on it? They stole it from the Persian Empire. The Persian empire invaded the Mughal Empire so this is a contested object,” said Webb.
In a befitting reply, Kaur added, “You do not know history. It represents colonisation and bloodshed. Give it back to India. I don’t see why an Indian child from India has to travel all the way to the UK to look at it and pay for it.”
