Kohinoor English news | Kohinoor, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

I have seen the Kohinoor in the Tower of London. Will we ever be able to see it in India? History is witness to the fact that the Kohinoor has constantly changed its abode. And who can say what the future holds? Perhaps, one day, it will return to India!Time itself never turns murderous, rather the person who grows up in the lap of time makes it so. Our current era is no different. But consider this: In such savage times, Zohran Mamdani, mayor of the world’s most vibrant city, New York, has suddenly recalled the Kohinoor, the world’s most peerless diamond. Not only that, he has expressed a desire to see it returned to India. Isn’t this surprising? Initially, I too was astonished. However, it then occurred to me that politics often lurks behind the choice of words. Is that really the case?In the last week of April, King Charles arrived in the United States for a four-day visit. Just prior to his arrival, during a press briefing, Mamdani was asked a pointed question: If he had the opportunity to meet the King during his stay in New York, what would he say? Mamdani’s response went viral across the globe within minutes. He said: If I get the chance to speak with the King, I would perhaps ask him to return the Kohinoor to India. On April 29, when King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to pay their respects to the victims of the 2001 terror attacks and interact with grieving families, Mamdani did briefly meet the King. The two shook hands and exchanged greetings. However, it remains unclear whether Mamdani actually raised the issue of the Kohinoor during that brief exchange.Even if Mamdani was unable to raise the issue directly with the King, he has effectively reopened the wounds of Britain’s colonial history by bringing the Kohinoor into the media spotlight. India has long been steadfast in its demand for the return of this peerless gem. Furthermore, one cannot dismiss the New York mayor’s involvement as irrelevant; as an individual of Indian descent, Mamdani has every right to voice his opinion on the Kohinoor. However, there is more to this than simple heritage. By signalling his intent to challenge the King on the Kohinoor, Mamdani has effectively elevated his own political stature. Though he has been a harsh critic of both Donald Trump and, at times, India itself, his stance on the Kohinoor appears to be a calculated move to bridge the gap between himself, the Indian masses and the Indian diaspora in America. To speak of the Kohinoor during a British monarch’s visit is no small feat. It requires true grit.Listening to Mamdani, I was suddenly reminded of Shashi Tharoor’s blistering speech at the Oxford Union. Tharoor argued with cold precision that Britain built its prosperity by plundering its colonies. He provided evidence that when the British arrived, India’s share of the global GDP was between 23% and 27%, and by the time they left, it had plummeted to less than 3%. Britain’s industrial revolution was, in reality, funded by the extraction of Indian resources. The Indian textile industry was systematically dismantled solely to create a captive market for British goods. Tharoor went so far as to demand an apology from Britain for the atrocities, looting and lives lost during the colonial era.The Kohinoor’s absence from India is a direct consequence of this systematic plunder. While experts estimate its modern value exceeds one billion dollars, its worth transcends money. The Kohinoor is a symbol of Indian pride. The name ‘Kohinoor’ means ‘Mountain of Light’, yet its journey from India to Britain is shrouded in a dark and bloody history. Historians believe it was unearthed in the 13th or 14th century from the Kollur mines in Golconda, a region world-renowned for its diamonds. At the time of its excavation, the diamond weighed around 793 carats; after centuries of cutting and polishing, it now stands at 105.6 carats. After its discovery, it came into the possession of the Kakatiya dynasty. Its fame was inevitable. In the 14th century, Malik Kafur, the general of Alauddin Khilji, seized the diamond during his invasion of South India, bringing it to Delhi. After the first battle of Panipat in 1526, Babur took it. Later, Babur’s great-grandson, Shah Jahan, had the diamond set into the legendary Peacock Throne (Takht-e-Taus). The odyssey continued in 1739 when Nadir Shah looted Delhi and carried the diamond away to Persia (present-day Iran). It was Nadir Shah who bestowed the name ‘Kohinoor’ upon it. Following his death, the diamond passed to Ahmad Shah Abdali and his descendants, continuing its long, turbulent journey through history.History records that in 1813, Maharaja Ranjit Singh succeeded in bringing the diamond back to Indian soil. However, the British Empire had already cast a covetous eye upon it. Following the Maharaja’s death, his son Duleep Singh ascended the throne at the tender age of five. In 1849, when the British annexed Punjab, they claimed the Kohinoor through a formal agreement. Thus, the Kohinoor made its journey to London. Today, Britain maintains that the diamond was acquired through a legal treaty. But the question is, can an agreement extracted by intimidating and threatening a mere 10-year-old boy who was the king truly be called a treaty? Or was it, in fact, a deception? The world largely views it as a deception. I have seen the Kohinoor at the Tower of London. Looking at it, one feels an innate sense of belonging; it feels like our own. The question remains: Will we ever see it back in India? History is a witness to the fact that the Kohinoor has always changed its abode. And who can say what the future holds? Time is unpredictable. Perhaps one day, it will finally return home and be set once again in the crown of India.The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.

Home

City

Latest News

Cricket

LT Premium

National

International

Maharashtra

Opinions

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Nagpur

Entertainment

Photos

Business

Technology

Sports

Lifestyle

Social Viral

Lokmat Games

Health

USA-Israel Attack

Assembly Elections 2026

IPL 2026

Stock Market News

Maharashtra News

Mumbai Local

KohinoorFOLLOW

Kohinoor, Latest News

Opinions :Why Remember Kohinoor amid Bloodshed?

I have seen the Kohinoor in the Tower of London. Will we ever be able to see it in ... ...