Incidentally, the Kohinoor diamond is just one of 2,800 stones set in the crown made for Elizabeth’s mother, known as the Queen Mother — but the 105-carat oval-shaped stone is what Time refers to as “the proverbial jewel in the crown”
Soon after the death of Queen Elizabeth, Twitter witnessed “Kohinoor” trending. Time magazine in a report said that many Indians started demanding that the Kohinoor diamond be returned to India.
Incidentally, the Kohinoor diamond is just one of 2,800 stones set in the crown made for Elizabeth’s mother, known as the Queen Mother — but the 105-carat oval-shaped stone is what Time refers to as “the proverbial jewel in the crown”.
This is not the first time that the demand for the diamond has been raised. In 1947, the government asked for the diamond back and another demand was made in the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. The UK has said that there are no legal grounds for the Kohinoor to be sent back to India.
…Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh, brought it back to India after taking it from Afghan leader Shah Shujah Durrani and it was acquired by the British during the annexation of Punjab. The East India Company got hold of the stone in the late 1840s, after forcing the 10-year-old Maharajah Dunjeep Singh to surrender his lands and possessions
The diamond has a checkered history. It was mined in what is presently Andhra Pradesh between the 12th and14th centuries. It was then supposed to have been 793 carats uncut. It was in the hands of the Mughals in the 16th century after which it was taken by the Persians and later by the Afghans.
Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh, brought it back to India after taking it from Afghan leader Shah Shujah Durrani and it was acquired by the British during the annexation of Punjab. The East India Company got hold of the stone in the late 1840s, after forcing the 10-year-old Maharajah Dunjeep Singh to surrender his lands and possessions.
The company presented the gem to Queen Victoria. Prince Albert, her consort, asked for it to be recut and it was set in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary before being placed in the Queen Mother’s crown in 1937. The Queen Mother wore part of the crown at her daughter’s coronation in 1953.
The Time report mentions that the Kohinoor has been among the British crown jewels since then, but governments in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have all laid claim to the diamond.
“If the King is not going to wear Kohinoor, give it back,” wrote one on Twitter. Another tweet said that the diamond “was stolen” by the British, who “created wealth” from “death,” “famine” and “looting”.
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