“The Koh-i-Noor is just a symbol”

Anusha Singh Wednesday 17th May 2023 09:04 EDT
 
 

The 105-carat diamond that once adorned the Peacock Throne, was handed over to the East India Company.

India is on the verge of launching a diplomatic campaign to reclaim the Koh-i-Noor diamond and other Indian artefacts from Britain. If a report from The Daily Telegraph is to be believed, officials back in New Delhi are preparing the largest repatriation claim faced by the UK, a “reckoning” with the colonial past.

The ministerial and diplomatic leaders of India are involved in the efforts to secure the return of thousands of artifacts taken from the country, the main goal of the operation being the return of Koh-i-Noor. This demand for reclamation comes from the  top of Indian politics and is a high priority for Narendra Modi’s government.

Asian Voice reached out to Shrabani Basu, an Indian journalist, author and a historian. She told the newsweekly, “The Indian government has never formally asked for the return of the Koh-i-Noor or other artefacts. The point is, where do you draw the line? It is not just the Kohinoor, there are other jewels in the Royal Collection that were taken as war booty. There is the large diamond necklace with the Lahore diamond at its centrepiece, which was also taken from the Punjab treasury after the defeat of the Sikhs.”

“The museums, too, are full of Indian artefacts: from Tipu’s Tiger at the V&A  to the Amaravati Marbles at the British Museum, and so much more. It is best to leave them there, with captions clearly stating that they were looted or seized as war booty,” she added.

Speaking to Asian Voice, author Lady Kishwar Desai said, “The Koh-i-Noor is ‘only’ a symbol. Because it is well known, it quickly becomes a discussion point even among those who know little of India’s history. Undeniably, it would be an amazing gesture if the British government were to actually return it , but it is impossible to follow through. People have forgotten that  it belonged to undivided India when the government of the time was in Lahore. So will it be returned to India or to Pakistan?”

She further added that, not just sculptors and art, other historical objects and documents needed to be repatriated as well. “Let us begin somewhere substantial instead of discussing the Koh-i-Noor endlessly. It is a diversion”, she said. 

“It is of huge importance to the government. The thrust of this effort to repatriate India’s artefacts comes from the personal commitment of prime minister Narendra Modi, who has made it a major priority,” Govind Mohan, secretary for the Indian ministry of culture, was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

In a process that is due to begin this year, New Delhi officials will co-ordinate with British officials to push for the return of artefacts that were removed in the period of colonial coercion. Diplomats in London, on the other hand, will make formal requests to institutions holding artefacts seized as spoils of war and those collected by enthusiasts during the East India Company’s time in India.

For the return to be made, royal permission will be needed and legislative changes will have to be made. This has proved to be a daunting situation for PM Rishi Sunak who was hailed as a “living bridge” to Indians in the UK  by the Indian Prime Minister, following his Tory leadership.


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