NEW DELHI: The fight for Kohinoor is on, as the Union Government said it would make all efforts to get back the 106-carat diamond back from the British. The diamond, which stands at an estimated value of over $00 million, was transferred to the British East India Company's treasury in 1849, after the subjugation of Punjab by British forces.
A senior government source said, "The government is considering both diplomatic as well as legal channels to get back to the diamond. If India is able to get back the diamond through diplomatic efforts, then it would not go for the legal channel. But if that does not fructify, then the government will explore legal option." The move comes after UK Minister of Asia and Pacific Affairs Alok Sharma indicated the diamond could probably never find its way to India. "As far as this issue is concerned, there is no legal ground for restitution," he had said during his visit last week.
As pressure builds on the government, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma held a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj where it was reportedly decided that India would approach Britain next month on the issue of bringing it back. The Apex Court is also hearing a case seeking the diamond's return and the meeting has also deliberated on the stand to be taken by the government before the court. The Kohinoor issue caught up a major controversy after a submission in the Supreme Court said that it was neither "forcibly taken nor stolen" by the British but given to the East India Company as a "gift" by the rulers of Punjab.
