The Kohinoor was installed by the Kakatiya kings as one of the eye to goddess of Warangal. In 1323 Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq defeated the kakatiya kings and the diamond was taken away from the temple.
In 1839 on death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated Kohinoor Diamond to Lord Jagannath of the Puri Jagannath Temple in Orissa but when he died the diamond was refused to place at temple by the British administrators.
In 1850 the diamond was taken by the British forcefully and delivered to monarch. Now the same is the crown jewel of British empire. worn by the queen of England. The 186-carat gem, which is being named after Mountain of Light in Persian and it was described by one Mughal emperor as being “worth half the daily expense of the whole world”.
The diamond was war loot and its delivery was to be a spectacle carried out in the same manner as it is the tribute paid by defeated enemies of Egyptian pharaohs and Roman emperors.it was a master piece of Exhibition in 1851,and attracted many visitors.
It is probability not meant that entirely the Koh-i-Noor is reserved to be used in crowns, utilized by a female member of British royal family. According to a Hindu text from the time of Kohinoor’s first authenticated look in 1306 states that the stone carries a curse deadly to male owners. it is said and read that :”Only God or a woman can wear it with impunity.”
Then the mughals who had controls over the diamonds and were passed to Persians then after that only Koh-i-Noor the present name came.
Then the lust for the diamond started after by its owner, who were hypnotized by its value and status. It is said by Nadir Shah courtier that “If a strong man should take five stones and throw one north, one south, one east and one west, and the last straight up in the air, and then the space between filled with gold and gems, that would equal the value of the Koh-I-Noor.”
Witin 40 years the stone reached to the possession of Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of India who was main master mind behind subjugation of the Punjab Sikh war in 1849 and was subsequent of surrender of the diamond, order prince Duleep new Puppet of Lahore to deliver the Kohinoor in person.
After Prince Albert had it trimmed it was mounted in a tiara, while Prince Duleep was made a ward of british crown. He got converted into Christianity and became and became a member of racy circle of young Edwards Vll and died in poverty.
Historians have pointed out that, after 155 years in the possession of British monarchy, the present Queen can claim be one of the longest-standing owners of the Koh-i-Noor. It is kept in the Tower of London as part of the Crown Jewels collection which is worth an estimated £13bn. But despite Mr Callaghan’s rebuttal to Pakistan 30 years ago, the attraction of the diamond remains undimmed.
The demand of restoration came, the concept was initiated by the Pakistan Prime Minister , Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a letter to his counter part James Callaghan. Dated 13 August 1976, the letter began: “I am writing to you shortly before our annual Independence Day. This occasion never fails to bring to mind Pakistan’s historic grievances about the disposition of territories and assets to which we were entitled upon the termination of British rule”.
In repy the PM Pakistan got “The spat was only the latest in a bloody succession of battles for a gemstone which has been the embodiment of the supremacy of force, and a harbinger of ill fortune throughout its history.”
The Kohinoor was mined in India during 12th century and might be originated from Golconda in the southern region of Andhra Pradesh. The shape and size of diamond is like a small hen’s egg, the diamond attained a sinister quality of mystery.
A spokesman for the High Commission in London said: “The Indian government has a legitimate claim. We hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible. But behind closed doors in Whitehall, it is unlikely that the position outlined 30 years ago has changed”.
On 21 February 2013, while visiting India, David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, stated that it would be illogical to return the diamond to India. He further stated, “I certainly don’t believe in returnism, as it were. I don’t think that’s sensible.” We should remember that his country forced India to hand over this priceless diamond during the colonial era. Cameron is keen to tap into India’s economic rise, but says he is “anxious to focus on the present and future rather than reach back into the past”
AW: Arun Kumar
