India Claims Return Of The £100m Diamond Koh-i-Noor
The Kohi-i-Noor which was once the world’s largest-known diamond, worth a reported £100m and weighing 105 carats, is currently part of Britain’s crown jewels, in the Queen Mother’s crown Rex Features, which was 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.
During British colonization of India and after the British annexed Punjab, the jewel was given to the reigning Queen of the time by the last ruler of the Sikhs, Duleep Singh.
A number of Indian celebrities and businessmen are coming together to instruct lawyers to initiate legal proceedings in London’s High Court to demand the return the Koh-i-Noor diamond from the UK Government, since they believe it to be a part of their history and culture. The group has decided to call itself the “Mountain of Light” group after the translation of the stone’s name. Their legal representatives in Britain say that they would base their case on the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act, which permits national institutions in the UK to return stolen art. They would also make a claim under the common law doctrine of “trespass to goods”, arguing that the government had stolen the diamond. They say that they would also take their case to the International Court of Justice.
