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India gives up Kohinoor
The NDA government waded into a historic controversy around the Kohinoor diamond, now one of Britain’s crown jewels, on Monday. Lawyers for the Culture Ministry argued in the Supreme Court that the massive diamond once the property of rulers in India was not stolen or forcibly given to the country’s former colonial master, but was “a gift.”
New Delhi: The NDA government waded into a historic controversy around the Kohinoor diamond, now one of Britain’s crown jewels, on Monday. Lawyers for the Culture Ministry argued in the Supreme Court that the massive diamond once the property of rulers in India was not stolen or forcibly given to the country’s former colonial master, but was “a gift.”
The assertion was a response to a lawsuit brought by the non-profit All India Human Rights and Social Justice Front aimed at forcing the government to seek the gemstone’s return from the United Kingdom.“Historians will not forgive you,” Nafis Ahmad Siddique, a lawyer for the group said. He said the Culture Ministry’s stance could set a “dangerous precedent” for Indian treasures in museums and other collections abroad.
“Kohinoor cannot be said to be forcibly taken or stolen as it was given by the successors of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to East India Company in 1849 as compensation for helping them in the Sikh wars,” Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar told a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur.
The apex court then asked whether the government was willing to stake a claim to the Kohinoor, one of the most valuable diamonds in the world. The Solicitor-General told the apex court, “If we claim our treasures like Kohinoor from other countries, every other nation will start claiming their items from us.
There will be nothing left in our museums.” This was the stand of the Ministry of Culture while the response from the Ministry of External Affairs, which is also a party, is awaited.
The bench, also comprising Justice UU Lalit, then asked the Solicitor-General to file a detailed reply within six weeks. “We would like to know if there is a claim the government wants to make? See, we are not inclined to dismiss this plea.
If we dismiss it, that country (United Kingdom) may say that your Supreme Court has rejected the plea and it may lead to denial of the government’s legitimate claim.
“You cannot afford dismissal as it may be treated as an obstruction in your way. You formulate a response and file it in six weeks,” the bench observed.
The PIL has also sought return of the “ring and talwar of Tipu Sultan and other treasures of Tipu Sultan, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Rani of Jhansi, Nawab Mir Ahmad Ali Banda and other rulers of India.”
