The Kohinoor is one of the oldest and most famous diamonds in the world. The history of the Kohinoor goes back in history to more than 5000 years ago. The current name of the diamond, Koh-i-noor is in Persian and means “Mountain of Light”. Below you will find a timeline of this priceless diamond.
Up to 1500
It is believed that the diamond was first mentioned more than 5000 years ago in a Sanskrit script, where it was called the Syamantaka.
It is worth mentioning that there is only speculation that the Syamantaka and the Kohinoor are the same diamond. After this first written mention, for over 4,000 years the diamond is not mentioned.
Up until 1304 the diamond was in the possession of the Rajas of Malwa, but back then, the diamond was still not named Kohinoor. In 1304, it belonged to the Emperor of Delhi, Allaudin Khilji.
In 1339, the diamond was taken back to the city of Samarkand, where it stayed for almost 300 years. In 1306 in a Hindi writing, a curse is placed on the men who will wear the diamond: “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity.”
Babur
In 1526 the Mogul ruler Babur mentions the diamond in his writings, Baburmama.
The diamond was gifted to him by the Sultan Ibrahim Lodi.
He was the one who described the diamond’s value equal to half-day production costs of the world.
One of the descendants of Babur, Aurangzeb , protected the diamond diligently and passed it on to his heirs.
Mahamad, the grandson of Aurangzeb, however, was not a fear-inspiring and great ruler like his grandfather.
Nadir and Mahamad.
The Persian general Nadir Shah went to India in 1739. He wanted to conquer the throne, which had been weakened during the reign of Sultan Mahamad. The Sultan lost the decisive battle and had to surrender to Nadir.
It was him the one that gave the diamond its current name, Koh-i-noor meaning “Mountain of light”.
But Nadir Shah did not live for long, because in 1747 he was assassinated and the diamond got to one of his generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani.
A descendant of Ahmad Shah, Shah Shuja Durrani brought the Koh-i-noor back to India in 1813 and gave it to Ranjit Singh (the founder of the Sikh Empire). In exchange Ranjit Singh helped Shah Shuja get back the throne of Afghanistan.
British East India Company
In 1849, after the conquest of the Punjab by the British forces, the properties of the Sikh Empire were confiscated.
The Koh-i-noor was transferred to the treasury of the British East India Company in Lahore.
The properties of the Sikh Empire were taken as war compensations. Even one line of the Treaty of Lahore was dedicated to the fate of the Koh-i-Noor.
The diamond was shipped to Britain on a ship where cholera broke out and supposedly the keeper of the diamond lost it for some days and it was returned to him by his servant.
The diamond was handed to Queen Victoria in July 1850.
Queen Victoria
When Nadir Shah heard of the diamond, he decided he wants it in his possession.
After the diamond was handed to Queen Victoria, it was exhibited at the Crystal Palace a year later. But the “Mountain of Light” was not shiny as the other cut gemstones of that era and there was a general disappointment regarding it.
In 1852 the Queen decided to reshape the diamond and it was taken to a Dutch jeweler, Mr Cantor who cut it to 108.93 carats.
Queen Victoria wore the diamond occasionally afterwards. She left in her will that the Koh-i-noor should only be worn by a female queen.
If the head of state was a man, his wife would have to carry the diamond. After Queen Victoria’s death, the Kohinoor became part of the Crown Jewels.
The Dispute
People of India have longed for the return of Kohinoor for years. Many Indians demanded the return of the diamond when Elizabeth II made a state visit to India to mark the 50th anniversary of India’s independence from Britain in 1997.
The Indian government, believing the gem was rightfully theirs, made the first demand for the return of the Kohinoor diamond soon after independence. A second request followed in 1953, the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Each time, the British government refuted the claims, saying that ownership was non-negotiable.
In 2000, several members of the Indian Parliament signed a letter calling for the diamond to be given back to India, claiming it was taken illegally. British officials said that a variety of claims meant it was impossible to establish the gem’s original owner.
A similar demand was made during UK President David Cameron’s visit to India. To which Cameron responded that he doesn’t believe in “returnism”.
Cameron said that it is not the right approach to return the diamond to India and said, “If you say yes to one you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty. I am afraid to say, it is going to have to stay put.”
What the Indian government has to say
On April 18, 2016, the government of India said that India should not stake claim to the diamond. According to reports , Solicitor General told the Supreme Court that the 105.602 carats diamond was handed over to the East India Company by Maharaja Ranjit Singh after he lost in the 1849 Sikh War.
Kumar cited a 43-year-old law that does not allow the government to bring back antiquities taken out of the country before independence. Under the provisions of the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) takes up the issue of retrieval of only such antiquities as have been illegally exported out of the country.
The matter finally goes to court
A petition was filed by All India Human Rights and Social Justice Front in the Supreme Court, asking the Centre to disclose its stand on bringing back the diamond. The petition had said that the government was not making efforts to bring the diamond back.
Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the government, said this was the stand of the Culture Ministry.
Who owns the diamond, anyway?
It is not just India that is claiming ownership of the diamond; the list includes Pakistan and Aghanistan, too.
@www.kohinoordiamond.org
@Business Standard.
