No legal ground for restoring Kohinoor: Britain
Amidst Indian Government's attempts to stake claims over the Kohinoor diamond, Britain brought to notice the lack of legal ground for restitution for the same. Alok Sharma, Britain's new minister for Asia and Pacific is on a 3-day visit to India. He said, "It is the UK Government's view that there aren't any legal ground for restitution of the diamond."
The Kohinoor originally belonged to the Kakatiya Dynasty in 13th century. From Kakatiya, it went into many hands from Khilji to Mughals and later to Ahmad Shah. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Sikh empire acquired it but after his death in 1839, the British acquired it in under the treaty of Lahore. The treaty mentioned that Kohinoor was surrendered to Queen of England.
The Koh-i-Noor Diamond was mined at Kollur mine in Andhra Pradesh. It was measured as 793 carats originally. It was once the largest known diamond, but now it is a 105.6 metric carat diamond, weighing 21.6 grams in its most recent cut state.
British PM David Cameron, who was on a 3 day visit to India, had ruled out the return of Kohinoor to India. He said that if they would agree to such demands, the British museum would become empty soon. He said that there were many arguments about the original custody of the diamond and the truth would disappoint the people of India.
According to a myth, the gem can only be worn by God or women, and whoever wears the jewel will become extremely powerful. However, if a man wears it, he will meet with an unfortunate end.
Keith Vaz, the longest serving Asian origin MP in UK, called for the return of Kohinoor to India. He said that there was no excuse for not returning precious items such as Kohinoor diamond to India. He had said that it would be a great gesture on the UK PM Cameron's part if PM Modi is presented the diamond on his UK visit.
A group called Mountain of Light, consisting of Bollywood stars and businessmen, have sued the Queen of England. They had instructed their lawyers to begin legal proceedings against the Queen in London's High Court to return the Kohinoor Diamond. British lawyers said that their case would be based on the Holocaust act which gives national institutions in UK the power to return stolen items.
The Centre told the SC that India shouldn't lay claim to the famous Kohinoor diamond as "it was neither stolen nor forcibly taken away". Expressing the Culture Ministry's stand, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said that the 105-karat Kohinoor was handed over willingly by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to East India Company. The Kohinoor is part of Queen Elizabeth II's crown, worth almost $200 million.
Days after the Centre told the Supreme Court that the Kohinoor could not be brought back as it was not stolen by the British but gifted, the Centre has made a U-turn. The Culture Ministry said it was making all efforts to bring the diamond back to India. The Ministry also refuted media reports regarding the Centre's alleged communique to the SC.
