kohinoor diamond was not stolen

8/18/2019 Kohinoor Diamond Was Not Stolen

1/10

Kohinoor Diamond was not Stolen,

but Gifted to UK: Govt TellsSupreme Court

Editor’s note: The Kohinoor diamond was originally stolen from the temple of Goddess of Warangal, where it was used as the eye of the deity. There are

many such jewels which were stolen from Hindu temples and hae ended up

in the hands of !ings and rulers oerseas. "ou can read more a#out it

here: The Kohinoor $iamond in the %ritish &rown 'ewels was the Eye of

Hindu Goddess of Warangal

http://www.indiadivine.org/the-kohinoor-diamond-in-the-british-crown-jewels-was-the-eye-of-hindu-goddess-of-warangal/http://www.indiadivine.org/the-kohinoor-diamond-in-the-british-crown-jewels-was-the-eye-of-hindu-goddess-of-warangal/http://www.indiadivine.org/the-kohinoor-diamond-in-the-british-crown-jewels-was-the-eye-of-hindu-goddess-of-warangal/http://www.indiadivine.org/the-kohinoor-diamond-in-the-british-crown-jewels-was-the-eye-of-hindu-goddess-of-warangal/


2/10

Government today told the Supreme Court that Kohinoor diamond was

neither “forcibly taken” nor “stolen” by British rulers but given to the East

ndia Company by the rulers of !un"ab#

“Kohinoor cannot said to be forcibly taken or stolen as it was given by the

successors of $ahara"a %an"it Singh to East ndia Company in &'() as

compensation for helping them in the Sikh wars*” Solicitor General %an"it

Kumar told a bench headed by Chief +ustice , S ,hakur#

,he ape- court then asked whether the government was willing to stake a

claim to the Kohinoor* one of the most valuable diamonds in the world#

,he Solicitor General told the ape- court that the demand to get back

Kohinoor have been raised time and again in !arliament# “f we claim our

treasures like Kohinoor from other countries* every other nation will start

claiming their items from us# ,here will be nothing left in our museums*”

Solicitor General said#

Editor’s note: This argument is ridiculous as (ndia has not stolen any

artifacts from other countries, nor has (ndia eer ruled oer other nationsimperially. )n the other hand, the wealth of (ndia had #een systematically

stolen #y the %ritish and sent a#road for hundreds of years.

.e said this was the stand of $inistry of Culture while the response from

$inistry of E-ternal /ffairs* which is also a party* is awaited#

,he bench* also comprising +ustice 0 0 1alit* then asked the Solicitor General

to file a detailed reply within si- weeks# “2e would like to know if there is aclaim the government wants to make3 See* we are not inclined to dismiss

this plea#


3/10

f we dismiss it* that country 40nited Kingdom5 may say that your Supreme

Court has re"ected the plea and it may lead to denial of the government6s

legitimate claim#

“7ou cannot afford dismissal as it may be treated as an obstruction in your

way# 7ou formulate a response and file it in si- weeks*” the bench observed#

,he ape- court had asked the government to clarify its stand on a !1

seeking return of Kohinoor diamond to the country#

Kohinoor* which means $ountain of 1ight* is a large* colourless diamond that

was found in Southern ndia in early &(th century# ,he &8'9carat Kohinoorgem* which came into British hands during the colonial era* is the sub"ect of

a historic ownership dispute and claimed by at least four countries including

ndia#

,he court was hearing a !1 filed by /ll ndia .uman %ights and Social

+ustice :ront seeking directions to the ndian .igh Commissioner in 0nited

Kingdom for the return of the diamond* besides several other treasures#

,he !1 has made $inistry of E-ternal /ffairs and $inistry of Culture* .igh

Commissioners of 0K* !akistan and Bangladesh as parties in the case#

t had also sought return of the “ring and talwar of ,ipu Sultan and other

treasures of ,ipu Sultan* Bahadur Shah ;afar* %ani of +hansi*


4/10


5/10

,he famed Kohinoor diamond was neither stolen nor forcibly taken away and

ndia should not stake claim to it* the Central government has told the

Supreme Court on $onday#

,he statement was made by Solicitor General %an"it Kumar* who was

appearing for the government in the court* ,he ,imes of ndia reported# .e

is reported to have told the court that the &8=9karat diamond* which has

become a part of popular culture* was handed over to the East ndia

Company by !un"ab6s $ahara"a %an"it Singh#

t is now set in the crown that was worn by >ueen Eli?abeth6s mother until

her death in @88@* and is on public display in the ,ower of 1ondon#

,he Supreme Court on ' /pril had asked the government to clarify its stand

on a !1 seeking return of the Kohinoor diamond in the country#

/ bench headed by Chief +ustice , S ,hakur* which did not issue notice on

the !1* asked the Solicitor General to seek instructions in the matter within

a week#

“Everybody is claiming the Kohinoor# .ow many countries are claiming

Kohinoor3 !akistan* Bangladesh* ndia and even South /frica# Somebody

here is also asking for the Kohinoor# Ao you know about it3*” the bench

asked the Solicitor General#

Solicitor General %an"it Kumar said he was unaware about it and would need

time to seek instructions and get back#

Auring the hearing* the bench* also comprising +ustices % Banumathi and 00

1alit* said there has been a press report attributing statements to the British

!rime $inister uoting him as saying* “if we were to accept such demands*

British $useums would be empty”#


6/10

“2hy don6t you approach the government3 .asn6t the government taken up

the matter3 ,he government has done something# ,hey have done whatever

it could*” the bench told the petitioner#

,he ape- court was hearing a !1 filed by /ll ndia .uman %ights and Social

+ustice :ront seeking directions to the .igh Commissioner of 0nited Kingdom

for return of the diamond besides several other treasures#

,he !1 has made $inistry of E-ternal /ffairs and $inistry of Culture* .igh

Commissioners of 0K* !akistan and Bangladesh as parties in the case#

t has also sought return of the “ring and talwar of ,ipu Sultan and othertreasures of ,ipu Sultan* Bahadur Shah ;afar* %ani of +hansi*


7/10

Seated comfortably with the Crown "ewels of the >ueen mother at the ,ower

of 1ondon* the Kohinoor diamond has been a bone of contention between the

ndian and the British governments for decades# .istory has it that the

British first came into possession of the diamond in &'=8 after the conuest

of !un"ab* then under $ahara"a %an"it Singh#

,he diamond* however* changed hands several times before finally coming

into the ownership of the British#

,he Kohinoor was first mentioned some (888 to =888 years back in some

Sanskrit te-ts# /t that period though* it was known by the name Samantika

$ani6 4prince and leader among diamonds5# /ccording to some myths* the

diamond was in the possession of .indu God Krishna#


8/10

,he origin of the diamond has been placed in the Golconda in /ndhra

!radesh# t was mined from the %ayalaseema diamond mine when it was

under the rule of the Kakatiya dynasty#

0nder the rulership of /lauddin Khil"i* the second ruler of the Aelhi Sultanate

dynasty* the Khil"is made successful raids in Southern ndia# t is believed

that the Khil"is came to acuire the diamond in one such e-pedition at

2arangal in &D&8#

,he diamond then kept switching ownership of the succeeding rulers of the

Aelhi Sultanate# n &=@ Babur defeated brahim 1odi* from whom he

acuired the diamond# Bubur mentions the diamond in his memoir* theBaburnama#

/fter Babur* there is record that it adorned Shah +ahan6s !eacock throne#

,he !ersian monarch* ueen of England#


9/10

1ord Aalhousie* in &'=&* arranged for the Kohinoor to be presented to >ueen

Iictoria by Auleep Singh* successor of %an"it Singh# ,he presentation of the

diamond was a grand event organi?ed in .yde !ark* 1ondon#

Since then* the Kohinoor has remained in England# ,he government of ndia

on $onday* told the Supreme Court that the Kohinoor was not taken away

by the British government* but was given as a gift to them by $ahara"a

%an"it Singh#


10/10

ndia should not stake claim to the famed J@88 million Kohinoor diamond as

“it was neither stolen nor forcibly taken away”* the centre told the Supreme

Court on $onday#

Solicitor General %an"it Kumar* appearing for the government on $onday*

said this was the stand of the Culture $inistry# .e also told the court that the

&8=9karat Kohinoor diamond was handed over to the East ndia Company by

$ahara"a Auleep Singh#

ncidentally* in &'=8* the $aruess of Aalhousie* who was the British

governor9general of !un"ab* forced !un"ab6s $ahara"a Auleep Singh to gift6

the diamond to >ueen Iictoria#

Solicitor General Kumar on $onday also also said the response of the

$inistry of E-ternal /ffairs on this issue is yet to come#

,he Supreme Court on $onday asked the Centre to file a detailed reply

within si- weeks#

kohinoor diamond was not stolen

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