Indians demand return of Koh-i-Noor diamond after Queen Elizabeth II's funeral

For centuries the stone was owned by kings in the Indian subcontinent before British colonisers took it and made it a prized possession of the monarchy.

For decades, Indians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Iranians have laid claim to the precious stone, which is believed to bring bad luck to its male owners.

Britain has consistently declined the claims and asserted they were legal owners of the gemstone, a view held by India’s Supreme Court which ruled that the diamond was not looted or stolen but procured by the colonisers through a legal treaty.

But social media users in India have been demanding the return of the famed gemstone since the queen’s died on September 8, promoting petitions for the cause.

Venkatesh Shukla started a petition aiming to get 1 million signatures on LinkedIn, reminding the “honourable country” UK to return the “loot”. So far, it has just 6,500 signatures.

“Every time the crown appears with Koh-i-Noor as the jewel of the crown, it reminds the world of Britain's colonial past and the shameful way they got a five-year-old prince to “gift” it to Britain,” Mr Shukla wrote.

“The British monarchy isn’t obviously going to give it back. If we as an emerging strong country have any sort of civilizational memory and self-respect, we should officially ask them to return [it],” said Twitter user Krithika Sivaswamy.

Read More : https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2022/09/20/indians-demand-return-of-koh-i-noor-diamond-after-queen-elizabeth-iis-funeral/