But the British government remained silent. And the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi too, did not raise the issue during his UK visit, in November 2015.
This month, he will be making a second visit to UK, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. And this time too, we can be sure he will not raise the topic.
The story of this diamond called ‘Koh-i-Noor’ – which means ‘Mountain of Light’, in Persian - is so complex that it is unlikely that neither government would make any effort in even starting to negotiate on it.
In fact, at different times, not only India, but also Pakistan, Afghanistan, and even Iran, had claimed the prized gemstone as rightfully theirs, and asked for its return.
But the Kohinoor is stubbornly sitting, on a display, in the Tower of London among UK’s crown jewels. And, it might remain so, for years to come.
But, why do I say so?
It is because I had just completed the book, ‘Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond’. And this 2017 book written, evidently with enormous research, by historians William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, shows me that it is not an easy problem to resolve.
The authors have taken me on a ride, through history, which I doubt I will ever forget. It was not an enjoyable ride. It was a disturbing one. The history of this diamond is replete with stories of loot, murder, torture, deceit and colonial greed.
From India’s Kollur Mines to Golconda Fort, from Kakatiya Dynasty to Mughal Dynasty, from India’s Muhammed Shah Rangeela to Persia’s Nader Shah, from Afghan King Shuja Shah Durrani (Shah Shuja) to Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the diamond had kept changing places, and positions, which are simply too many and too complex to explain.
In 1846, when the one-eyed Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s successor, the 7-year old Maharaja Duleep Singh - who was ruling through his mother and regent Maharani Jind Kaur - signed the ‘Treaty of Lahore’, the diamond passed onto British hands.
If it had not gone to the British, it would have probably gone to Shree Jagannath Temple of Puri - which is in the current day Odhisa State. Apparently, Ranjit Singh, when he was completely bed-ridden and unable-to-speak, is supposed to have indicated to his Prime Minister that he will bequeath the diamond to the temple.
Sadly, except for the words of the Minister, there is not much proof of what the Maharaja had really intended. And the rapid turn of events in his successors' greed for power had let the diamond slip out of Punjab's royal treasury into British possession.
At the Buckingham Palace, however, Queen Victoria was not very excited with that which Lord Dalhousie had sent her from India. Yet, at “The Great Exhibition of 1851” organised by Prince Albert, the Kohinoor diamond was on public display at London’s Hyde Park.
But, when the general public expressed that the Kohinoor had lacked the special lustre that diamonds have, Prince Albert decided to have it re-cut.
In 1852, amidst a huge fanfare at the Tower of London, an aging first Duke of Wellington – Arthur Wellesley, who had, himself, served in India defeating Tippu Sultan (a poem here) – made the inaugural cut on the Kohinoor.
It was soon re-cut, re-shaped, and re-fitted in such a way that Queen Victoria could wear the diamond, in her crown, or in her brooch, as she pleased.
In 1855, she was able to show off the Kohinoor, at the Palace of Versailles where a huge banquet was thrown in her honour by the then French monarch.
Over centuries, Kohinoor has been a tenant of many treasuries, of many rulers. And we know that ‘spoils of war’ or ‘payments for treaties of annexation’ are no longer acceptable in democratic governance.
Furthermore, we must remember that India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran had not existed then, in their current forms.
The claims may come and go. The places may remain or change. But the diamond itself, we know, is forever.
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Related Links:
Kohinoor was no ‘gift’, the learned SG has got it mixed up
India's learned Solicitor General needs to read up on the 19th century history of the Sikhs and the British.
Puri priests want Kohinoor for Lord Jagannath
They have renewed their longstanding demand of placing the famed jewel on the crown of Lord Jagannath.
