Once upon a time, it was largest diamond in the world weighing 158.6 gms. corresponding to 793 Carats, mined in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh by the royal Kakatiya Dynasty during 13th century. They consecrated it in a Mandira that was raided and plundered by Alauddin Khilji. It was then passed onto the dynasty of Mughal raiders and occupiers in 16th century. In 1739, Persian invader Nadir Shah raided Delhi, looted Mughals for days and captured Kohinoor diamond as well as the Peacock Throne, so fabulous and enormously precious. It was Nadir Shah who had coined the name ‘Kohinoor’ meaning ‘mountain of light’. The name itself is a testimonial to its resplendence and splendour. One of Nadir Shahs Generals Ahmad Shah Durrani grabbed it after death of Nadir Shah who later became Emir of Afghanistan. It was in 1809, one of his descendants gifted it to the King of Panjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. By 1849, the fabulous gem fell into hands of British intruders who defeated successors of Ranjit Singh in a couple of battles and Sikh empire crumbled before them. Since then, the most fabled diamond in the world had been ‘forcibly’ adorning the Royal ‘Bandit’ Queens Crown, Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace, then Tower of London. During all these trials and tribulations, Kohinoor suffered indescribable indignities and cut down to mere 100 Carats. No information is available about fate of 693 Carats that made it 793 Carat heavy gem when it was mined initially.
In 2016, All India Human Rights And Social Justice Front petitioned Supreme Court to order Government to seek return of the precious diamond from illegitimate British custody. To utter dismay of the entire nation, Government washed their hands of the contention through their Solicitor General by declaring, the diamond was gifted to the ‘Bandit’ Queen Victoria by Maharaja Duleep Singh when he was in his teens to compensate for the ‘losses’ suffered by British intruders in Anglo-Sikh battles of 1840s, that Antiquities And Art Treasures Act 1972 did not allow Government to claim antiquities ‘exported’ from the country before 1947. It was probably the most ludicrous argument proffered by an elected Government in the highest court of a democratic country in past 100 years or so. Here was a band of ‘white’ thugs who intruded into the country to plunder our wealth, imposed wars on Kings, defeated them by promoting treachery and corruption, then demanded ‘compensation’ for the expenses and losses incurred by them !! And the fabulous diamond they demanded as ‘gift’ for being so ‘great and generous’ to have looted our country !!! And the ‘gift’ was forcibly snatched away from a King who happened to be a boy in his teens, not even from his regent !! That was the height of British ‘aristocracy’ of that century and this was the height of Bharatiya ‘intellectual bankruptcy’ of gigantic dimensions !! Nationwide furore that those arguments unleashed, Government was forced to retreat and reassure abjectly, stand adopted by them before Supreme Court Justices was not their final stand at all !! Then why did they submit that stand at all ?? Coming back to the Antiquities And Art Treasures Act 1972 prohibiting restitution of plundered antiquities, is it not Nehru-Gandhi-Vadra dynastys gift to the nation similar to Duleep Singhs gift of the diamond to British intruders ? Was it then impossible under the Constitution to nullify the anti-national Act that prohibits Government of the day to claim antiquities expropriated under foreign domination ? Government did not even care to move the UN body Intergovernmental Committee For Promoting Return Of Cultural Property To Countries Of Origin in case of an illegitimate transfer of cultural assets for reasons best known to them. Even Nazi era loot and plunder of cultural heritage has been reversed and restored to rightful owners in western countries. These actions and lack of right decisions have left nationalists embarrassed and speechless.
Strength of our claim and stand on the issue has been substantially eroded with the gaffe rendered by the Solicitor General on behalf of Government of Bharata. Now Iran, Afghanistan and even Pakistan have staked their dubious claims of ownership of Kohinoor. Their claims are as flimsy and dubious as that of British intruders claiming it was a ‘gift’ notwithstanding an ‘extorted gift’ as Iranians and Afghans had been as much plunderers as British intruders. Multiple claims of ownership, howsoever dubious, was a blessing in disguise and enormous relief for the British Government. Kohinoor also symbolises British loot of jewels from other countries over centuries and its repatriation to Bharata would have opened a Pandoras box that would have emptied British Museum within no time. In July 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron conceded in New Delhi in response to a pointed question, “If you say yes to one, you would suddenly find the British Museum would be empty. I am afraid to say, Kohinoor is going to have to stay put.” Through these words, they officially confessed albeit inadvertently, entire antique and art treasure adorning illuminated shelves of British Museum does not belong to them at all as these were plundered from their erstwhile colonies.
Hague Convention On The Protection Of Cultural Property During Armed Conflict-1954 mandated all signatories to protect and respect cultural assets. UNESCO Convention On Means Of Prohibiting And Preventing The Illicit Import, Export And Transfer Of Ownership Of Cultural Property-1970 allowed repatriation of plundered objects to rightful owners. UNIDROIT Convention On Stolen, Illegally Exported Cultural Objects-1995 stipulated return to the country of origin. Despite these conventions, France have been reluctant to return Egyptian art displayed at Louvre museum. Bharatiya Antiquities And Art Treasures Act-1972 is in no way stringent enough to deter cultural crimes while the process of repatriation is arduous and long drawn. It is yet another glowing chapter of the entire issue that large number of antiques and art treasures have been successfully reclaimed and restored to rightful owners in the country through assiduous efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 2014 onward and he deserves a thousand laurels for the unique feat.
Till the Kohinoor is restored to its rightful owner i.e. National Museum at New Delhi, we do not know when, it will remain a live and grim reminder for the Royal ‘Bandit’ Queen of Britain, her people had once intruded into Bharata, a nation of pious Hindu-s, captured it for almost two centuries and siphoned of wealth to the tune of US $ 45 Trillions apart from brutally killing lakhs in genocides and causing dreaded famines by snatching away their food grains in tonnes for which she had declined to apologise during her last visit to Bharata in 1997.
Kohinoor, its resplendence, its splendour shall continue telling the world, “Behold, colonial blood is still dripping from the British Crown uninterruptedly.”
May such an Empire never ever come into existence again.
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