Indians sue UK Queen for return of 'stolen' £100m Kohinoor diamond

Emma Henderson | The Independent | Nov 9, 2015, 01.00 PM IST

HIGHLIGHTS


• The Kohinoor was once the largest cut diamond in the world.

• The Kohinoor means "mountain of light".

• The 105-carat stone was presented to Queen Victoria during the British Raj.
The Kohinoor was in the crown worn by the Queen at the coronation of King George VI in 1937.The Kohinoor was in the crown worn by the Queen at the coronation of King George VI in 1937.


LONDON: 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.

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.

Top Comment

This joke of a historian Andrew Roberts should also tell that the cost of this so-called social advance by the Brits in ... Read MoreBalakrishna Chadalawada

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.