It was once the world’s largest-known diamond, is worth a reported £100m and is currently part of Britain’s crown jewels. But India wants it back.
Bollywood stars and businessmen have united to instruct lawyers to begin legal proceedings in London’s High Court to return the Kohinoor diamond.
The diamond was in the crown worn by the Queen Mother at the coronation of her husband King George VI in 1937 and again at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.
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The group, which has called itself the “Mountain of Light” after the translation of the stone’s name, say that the 105-carat diamond was stolen from its true home in India and are demanding that the UK government returns it.
The stone is “one of the many artefacts taken from India under dubious circumstances”, according to David de Souza from the Indian leisure group Tito’s.
Souza claims the British colonisation of India had stolen wealth and “destroyed the country’s psyche”.
The jewel was given to the reigning Queen of the time by the last ruler of the Sikhs, Duleep Singh, after the British annexe of the Punjab.
Bollywood star Bhumicka Singh, also part of the group, said: “The Kohinoor is not just a 105-carat stone, but part of our history and culture and should undoubtedly be returned.”
British Lawyers instructed by the “Mountain of Light” group to return the stone, said they would base their case on the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act, which gives national institutions in the UK the power to return stolen art.
Satish Jakhu, of Birmingham-based law firm Rubric Lois King, said they would make their claim under the common law doctrine of “trespass to goods”, arguing that the government had stolen the diamond. He added that they would be taking their case to the International Court of Justice.
Historian Andrew Roberts told the Mail on Sunday: “Those involved in this ludicrous case should recognise that the British Crown Jewels is precisely the right place for the Kohinoor diamond to reside, in grateful recognition for over three centuries of British involvement in India, which led to the modernisation, development, protection, agrarian advance, linguistic unification and ultimately the democratisation of the sub-continent.”
The disagreement of ownership draws parallels to the case of the Elgin Marbles. The ancient sculpture is currently held at the British Museum, which Greece wants returned.
According to legend, the gem can only be worn by God or women, and whoever wears the jewel will become extremely powerful, but if a man wears it, he will meet an unfortunate end.
The jewel was also in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary. It remains in the Queen Mother’s crown, which sat atop her coffin at her funeral in 2002.
The UK government has so far rejected the claims.
Source: Times of India
///////////The diamond was in the crown worn by the Queen Mother at the coronation of her husband King George VI in 1937 and again at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.///////////……….well …let it be with UK itself ……do not bring back it to india…..diamond is another form of lord shani……since the UK looted THE DIAMOND (THE PRECIOUS FORM OF CORBON- BLACK-THE COLOR OF LORD SHANI) from us., they last their empire in 1947 after world war II & most of their colonies in the world & shirinked to their present condition………so till the kohinoor is with them….they dimnish day by day……after all india losses worth of just Rs.500 cr diamond.,it is nothing… it is dust to us..and to our economy……
I am a British citizen and I say we should return it. To claim that India should be grateful for “300 years of British involvement” is an insult and a classic example of the arrogance of the British monarchy and the ruling class. We should not only return all the items we stole from India, Africa and everywhere else but we should dissolve the institution of the Monarchy, which has no place in a truly Democratic and egalitarian society. May the Gods favour your campaign and return to you what rightfully belongs to you.
The India Diamond must be returned to India. These Red coat thieves took a lot from India BUT, not their dignity and rightfully the current Government should not refuse to return it. THIS IS THIEVERY…….
The Kohinoor diamond was in the eye of a Devi Idol in Andhra Pradesh.
This is even today a very sacred shrine. British cannot use an item which is considered very auspicious in India and was taken away from an eye of the Devi deity. This is causing uncertainty and fear to the Queen in Britain.
The British know this in history.
Please return back the eye of the Goddess, which shrine is in Andhra Pradesh.
The Kohinoor diamond was considered to be a very unlucky one. It is not the material value alone that has to be considered. There are many assets the acquisition or possession of which has brought various difficulties to the owners and possessors. The U.K. has also not progressed after its presence. Hence it is better to leave it there.
Another case should be put up to tell the British for our ‘”grateful recognition ” of three centuries of brutal deprivation, thuggery,looting, hanging,taking away gems n gold from the lawful citizens by force n deceit,Famines, agragrain distress,killing local livelihood, artisans, shooting dead freedom fighters of first war of independence, hanging Bhagat singh without due process of law,brutllt killing suryada sen in custody,and making india a destitute… We should certainly be thanking them.
If the Indians who are complaining are currently living in Britain, they should move back to India and help to fix their country if they truly care about preserving their heritage.
It must be returned to India with appology for looting Infpdai during British Rule. Kohinoor was perhaps in the crown of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Now ot should be in the crown of Bharat Mata, the ifol of which should be installed in Parliamaent or Rastrapati Bhawan.
British Queen needs to consider the request of returning the Kohinoor diamond to Indian Govt.
It’s a dirty glittery rock. It is nothing. It means nothing.
I think the diamond should be given back to the India.
hey Hindus stop blaming the British for the slavery,plunder we went under them…that too for 300 years We had not learnt from 800 years of moughal rule
isn’t is great that East India Trading Company managed to enslave us ..foolish Hindus. Just a trading company..
We let them butcher us,plunder our motherland ..
I agree the word Kohinoor is evil ..I opened my jewelry store under that name and i went bankrupt in 3 months. so let the British Govt go bankrupt. It’s biggest curse for them stealing it.
Mahesh rathi….I know. Many of us who are considered subjects of “Her Majesty” know, and understand. We do not owe allegiance to this anachronism called monarchy, and nor do we owe allegiance or obedience to the criminal institution “Her Majesty’s Government” has become.
The Kohinoor is just a tangible object worth of some million pounds.The British have traded in slaves who are now the Indians settled in Maurutius,Fiji,West Indies.It was cruel,dastardly act to kidnap Indians and put them on galleys in sub-human conditions.The killings of patriots like Bhagat Singh,Khudiram Bose,Sukhdev,Rajguru and many more cannot be forgotten.The Jalianwala Bagh killings are beyond the comprehension of civilised society,it is an act born out of extreme hate and contempt for Indians by a superior white British Sahib who considered the Indians little more than animals.Didn’t the British do a psycho-analysis od Dwyer before giving him a position of authority and power to enable him to perpetrate such a henious crime.
War criminals are tried,why not colonisers?
For India and Indian people,patriotism is more important than Kohinoor Dimond.See what has happened in Jawaharlal Nehru University in the capital, Delhi,Indial.If you see the history of India–you will find that British/Company Army never won any War in India in open field–from Placy(Bengal)(Mirjafar is famous) to Punjab,Khalsa Army was also defeted due to our unpariot brothers.In short we Can say :Murkho Ke Desh Mae, Dhurto Ke Raj mae:
Not only Kohinoor diamond. We lost many valuables. British occupied & ruled us till 1947. Many patriots fought from freedom. We got it. we encouraged indirectly other nation people rule us.
Now only Indians are taking Indian breath. If citizens of India have any patriotism they will elect Indians to rule us in future.
No matter what anyone says, India has been enslaved by the British for about 300 years. My Beloved Grand Parents were taken from their farming and flourishing family, told they were only going to help a near-by country teaching them agriculture. Instead they were put on Ships and were sent to Fiji under the Inentured Labour System, without their knowledge. There they were forced to sign an agreement for 5 years of Labour. This was the SLAVERY form of Labour with being whipped all day and having to sleep all night crowded together in 1 room. We are their off-springs who would have been in Hydrabad today instead of where we are! The Kohinoor will bring bad luck to whoever or whatever possesses it. Should it be rightfully returned to Devi Maa, and well guarded it may bring back prosperity to our country. God Bless You All.
Leave it there.it is blessing in disguise to India and bad to its stealers.
India’s true jewel is her culture and knowledge… Let us preserve it and ensure its unmutated continuity… Lets stop its robbery….
As Srila Prabhupada said, we Indians welocomed the English as sacred guests, but they intrigued and destroyed our culture and stolen our artifacts and today Clive’s statue is honoured in London! This is their civilization. The bandit queen should return the Kohinoor to India where it belongs as soon as possible
India better not get Kohinoor back…it brings bad luck to the owner…See where is UK (Great(?) Briton) now…
Kohinoor is India’s ancient property and should be returned back to India.
Before British invasion and stolen Kohinoor India was the richest country, India said to be the rivers of milk and the goldenbird. Which attracted the foreign invaders.
Kohinoor is the luck of India and to be returned back as soon as possible otherwise Britain will have to see the total down fall in the comming years.
All the bad done by the British ,bad energies will have a down fall that is the law of nature.
Christians call themselves great people.in fact they were thieves.made colonies and looted what ever was precious. koh -i-noor is a proof that thieve are having it.
satya pal
Firstly, the British had no business to even BE IN INDIA. India and China had the highest GDP in the world before the British came to India and looted us for centuries. The British have no wealth of their own. Their Industrial Revolution was at the cost of impoverishment of India and British forces’ sustenance in WWII was at the cost of starvation of millions of Indians. Many Allied victories were at the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Indian soldiers’ lives. But the British, ungrateful as they are, split India before leaving. If they think Indians gave the Kohinoor to them in gratefulness, it is only British arrogance. Currently British are on the decline only because they have no colonies to sustain them.