It has
been 68 years since India achieved independence from British rule. But if
you believe that the country has managed to settle things with the
British then you are nowhere close to the truth.
They
still have our diamonds that is our Koh-i-Noor with them.
It
was once the world's largest-known diamond, is worth a reported £100m and is
currently part of Britain's crown jewels.
But India
wants it back.
Bollywood
stars and businessmen have united to instruct lawyers to begin legal
proceedings in London’s High Court to return the koh-i-Noor diamond.
David de Souza, co-founder of the Indian leisure group Titos, is helping
to fund the new legal action and has instructed British lawyers to begin High
Court proceedings.
"The
Koh-i-Noor is one of the many artefacts taken from India under dubious
circumstances. Colonisation did not only rob our people of wealth, it destroyed
the country's psyche itself. It brutalised society, traces of which linger on
today in the form of mass poverty, lack of education and a host of other
factors," De Souza told 'Sunday Telegraph'.
The legal
action coincides with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UK this week,
which includes a lunch hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
The
Koh-i-Noor, which means "mountain of light", was once the largest cut
diamond in the world and had been passed down from one ruling dynasty to
another in India.But after the British colonisation of the Punjab in 1849, the
Marquess of Dalhousie, the British governor-general, arranged for it to be
presented to Queen Victoria.
The
diamond was in the crown worn by the Queen Mother at the coronation
of her husband King George VI in 1937 and again at Queen Elizabeth's
coronation in 1953.
The Indian group, which has called itself the
“Mountain of Light” a literal translation of the diamond’s name, say that
the 105-carat diamond was stolen from its true home in India and are demanding
that the UK Government return it.
Bollywood
star Bhumicka Singh, also part of the group, said: “The Koh-i-noor is not just
a 105-carat stone, but part of our history and culture and should undoubtedly
be returned.”
The campaign has found support in Britain with the
likes of Labour party Indian-origin Labour MP Keith Vaz, who said: “What a
wonderful moment it would be, if when PM Modi finishes his visit, he returns to
India with the promise of the diamond’s return.”
The
British government has previously rejected all demands for the return of
Koh-i-Noor, and in 2013 British Prime Minister David Cameron while on a visit
to India, defended Britain’s right to keep it saying he did not believe in
“returnism.”
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