"Hello, friends!"
"In 1854, when India was under British Colonial rule," the then Governor General Lord Dalhousie sent a 15-year-old child from Punjab to
England. Lord Dalhousie believed that the mother of this child was a threat and had
a bad character. and so it was
important to take him away from the mother.
"In England, this child converts to Christianity," and becomes fast friends with Queen
Victoria's son Edward VII. "The
responsibility of this child was given to the British Crown," and an annual stipend was paid to him "of £50,000." "If you adjust it for inflation
today," it would amount to ₹650
million per year.
"Friends, this child wasn't an ordinary boy," he was Prince Duleep Singh. Known as Maharaja Duleep Singh as well. The last ruler of the Sikh Empire in India. "Interestingly, 4 years before he was
sent to England," "in 1849,
when the British defeated the Sikhs in the battle," Lord Dalhousie had ordered the 11-year-old
Duleep to surrender a diamond to Queen
Victoria. This was the Kohinoor Diamond. "That year, it travelled 6,700 km on a
ship, to go to London." "A
legend attached to the Kohinoor diamond states that," """He who owns this diamond,
will own the world;" "But will
also know all its misfortunes.""" It is a superstition known as the Curse of Koh-i-noor. "Because friends, every person who owned
Koh-i-noor," "had lived lives
full of bloodshed, violence, and betrayals." This is the most infamous diamond in history. "In today's Blog,"
"come, let's us delve into the interesting story of
Koh-i-Noor." """The
Kohinoor Diamond" "is kept in
the Tower of London's Jewel House,"
"for many years,"
"but there have been regular demands to get it back
from Britain.""" """The
Kohinoor diamond, during the rule of the British," was taken from India to Britain. "And became the jewel of the Queen's
crown.""" """I
saw the Kohinoor." The first
eyewitness description of it. "I
saw the Kohinoor," it was attached
to the head of the peacock "on top
of the Peacock Throne."""
"Friends, there are many prevalent theories regarding this." About the origin of Kohinoor. Where was it discovered? "A civil servant working for the East
India Company," "Theo
Metcalfe," "wrote in his
report that according to tradition,"
this diamond was extracted during
the lifetime of Krishna. "But
according to historians," the most
accepted view is that "this diamond
was found in the Kollur Mines," in
the Golconda region.
"Don't confuse it with the Kolar Mining area," which was popularised in the KGF film. The Golconda diamonds are found on the banks
of the Krishna River. On coastal Andhra
Pradesh. "During the 18th century,
this area" was the only area in the
world where diamonds could be found. "Until 1725, when diamond mines were
discovered in Brazil." "It
isn't clear who was the one to discover the Kohinoor diamond and how," "but normally, the gemstones are found
on the river beds of dried-up rivers."
"Historically, we don't even know" when was it discovered exactly. The best estimates of the historians claim
that it was discovered between the years
1100-1300. It is believed that the first
mention of Kohinoor was in a Hindu text in 1306. The problem is that no one knows the name of the text. Nor does anyone know who wrote it. The first written record of the mention of
Kohinoor was in 1526. When the first
Mughal emperor Zahirudin Babur came to India in 1526. "In Baburnama, he had written that"
it is a diamond which
is worth half the daily expense of the whole world. It is believed that he had won the Kohinoor
diamond as a prize for winning a
particular battle. The second mention of
Kohinoor was by Shah Jahan in 1628. When
he commissioned his famous Peacock Throne.
It took 7 years for this throne to be finished. And it was four times as expensive as the Taj
Mahal. A large amount of precious stones
and gems were used to make this throne. but
of tnumbert precious gems "one was
the Kohinoor diamond," and the other
was the Red Timur Ruby. "An
interesting fact," the Kohinoor
wasn't the most precious gen owned by the Mughals.
The Mughals prefered the Timur Ruby so that was the most valuable stone for them. Because the Mughals preferred the brightly
coloured stones "On the other hand,
the Hindu and Sikh kings, preferred diamonds." You can consider this as a personal
preference. But despite that. "the Kohinoor was given a prestigious
place on the Peacock Throne," by
making it the eye of the Peacock. The
diamond hadn't been named Kohinoor yet. "Around
100 years later," "under the
Mughals, Delhi had become one of the wealthiest cities in the world," "more than 2 million people lived
here," greater than the combined
population of London and Paris. "But
by this point in time," the Mughal
Empire had weakened. "The wealth of
Delhi attracted Persia's, Nadir Shah."
"In 1739, Nadir Shah invaded Delhi," and defeated Mohammed Shah. "Mohammed Shah was the 15th Mughal
emperor," the great-grandson of
Aurangzeb. Nadir Shah too many treasures
from Delhi with him when he returned. "700
elephants, 4,000 camels," "and
12,000 horses were needed" to carry
the treasures.
"Among these treasures, was the Kohinoor diamond as
well." A common belief has it that "Nadir Shah had received a tip from an
official working in the Mughal Empire,"
that Mohammed Shah had hidden the Kohinoor diamond in his turban. "There used to be an old war custom
of exchanging turbans," "so
Nadir Shah proposed to exchange turbans with Mohammed Shah," when the Kohinoor diamond fell to the ground. It shone so brightly under the light that Nadir Shah uttered Koh-i-Nur.
It literally meant Mountain of Light.
And thus this diamond was named. "But
Nadir Shah's financial official of the time," wrote a book Tarikh‐i 'Alam‐ara‐yi Nadiri. The content of the book provided us with a
written record. That the Kohinoor was
attached to the head of the Peacock Throne.
Nadir Shah took the Peacock Throne with him and wore the Timur Ruby and Kohinoor diamond
on his armband. The origin story of the
name of this diamond may not be true. "The part that it was hidden in a
turban," but it is true that Nadir Shah had named this diamond Kohinoor. Because this book has the reference to the
diamond as Kohinoor. "For the next
70 years, Kohinoor remained the part of present day Afghanistan." This is where the Curse of Kohinoor comes to
play. I talked about it in the beginning
of the Blog. "The owner of the diamond would own the
world," but all the misfortunes
will fall on him. "This saying is
taken from the Hindu text written in 1306," "as I told you before," it is believed to be the very first mention
of the Kohinoor diamond. It is a
superstition but as you will see that it
is true to some extent.
Misfortune fell on Nadir Shah on 1747. When Nadir Shah was killed by his guard. His empire collapsed as a result. "Ahmad Shah Durrani," also known as Ahmad Khan Abdali. Was a member of Nadir Shah's army. He became the founder of the new Afghan
empire. "And with it, the new owner
of the Kohinoor diamond." William
Dalrymple and Anita Anand's book tells us
"that the grandson of Nadir Shah," "Shahrukh Shah," had molten lead poured on his head "similar to what was shown in Game of
Thrones," to find out where
Kohinoor was hidden. "You can call
it the curse of Kohinoor or anything else," but there were a lot of infighting in the
Durrani empire as well. Ahmad's son
Timur ran the empire adeptly. "but
later, Ahmad's grandsons," fought
amongst each other for the throne. "Timur's
son, the third ruler of the empire,"
"Zaman Shah Durrani," was
blinded with hot needles. "His
brother, the fifth ruler was Shuja Shah Durrani." His wife had said that "if a strong man threw four pebbles in
four directions," "North,
South, East, and West," "and
then threw a fifth pebble into the air,"
"and the space enclosed by the five pebbles,"
"were filled with gold," the value of all the gold there would still
not match Kohinoor's value. Shuja Shah
Durrani wore the Kohinoor on his bracelet.
"In 1809, he was dethroned,"
and he fled with the Kohinoor diamond to Lahore. There he took refuge from Maharaja Ranjith
Singh. "Ranjith Singh was the
founder of the Sikh Empire," "and
in exchange for providing refuge to Durrani," he asked for the Kohinoor diamond. And so the Kohinoor diamond went to the Sikh
empire in 1813. "Even for Ranjith
Singh, Kohinoor held a lot of symbolic importance." "The land usurped by the Durrani
dynasty," was won back by him. "He was known as the Lion of
Lahore," or the Sher-e-Punjab. And he wore the Kohinoor on his bicep. In an armlet.
"Some years later, East India Company's hold over India was getting
stronger," "when the British
came to know about the death of Ranjith Singh in 1839," they also came to know of his plan to give this diamond to some Hindu priests. "The British newspapers of the
time," were infuriated with this. One of the newspapers published """The richest, the most
costly gem in the known world," "has
been committed to the trust of a profane,"
"idolatrous, and mercenary priesthood.""" The British government ordered the East India
Company to keep an eye on the Kohinoor
diamond. To continue tracking where it
goes and look for the opportunity to get
it for the British treasury.
The British had to wait for nearly a decade. "After Ranjith Singh's death in
1839," the Punjabi throne was
passed on to four rulers over the next four years. "By 1843, there were only two people
standing." "One, Ranjith
Singh's wife Rani Jindan," "and
the other, a five-year-old child." Prince
Duleep Singh. "Finally, when the
second Anglo-Sikh war ended in 1849,"
the East India Company ended the rule of the Punjab empire. By then Duleep Singh was about 10 years old. EIC made him sign a Treaty of Lahore. "As per this treaty," the Kohinoor diamond was supposed to be
handed over to the East India Company. Punjab
was the last major state that hadn't been conquered by the British. "After winning this war," the East India Company didn't want to leave
any scope to allow the Sikh Empire to
sprout once again. "And so they
jailed Jindan," "and the only
other remaining family member," "was
shipped to London," and converted
to Christianity. I told you this at the
beginning of the Blog. "When Duleep Singh was merely
15-years-old," he was sent to
London in 1854. "In July
1854," "when Duleep Singh's
portrait was being painted in the Buckingham Palace," Queen Victoria gave him an opportunity to see
the Kohinoor once again. "He held
it in his hand," and it is said
that the words he spoke were
"During the last years of his life, Duleep Singh" "rebelled against England," "he tried to return to India," but he was prevented by the British. He tried to get the help of the Germans. "But unfortunately, he remained
unsuccessful." It is said that he
had an unfortunate death. "at 55
years old, in Paris." "His
living conditions were quite bad by then,"
he was living in poverty. "On
the other hand, Kohinoor became a special possession of Queen Victoria," "interestingly," the 'curse of Kohinoor' "warning any man who owned it," also said that Only a God or a woman can wear it with
impunity. Without any adverse
consequences. "In 1851, in the Hyde
Park of London," "an
exhibition was held," wherein the
British people had the opportunity to see the Kohinoor. But the public reaction was quite unexpected. People were surprised to see empires fighting
over a small piece of rock. People
couldn't believe that it was the same Kohinoor diamond for which people had killed one another. "To them, it simply looked like a glass
piece." Not unlike any normal piece
of glass. It was reported by the Times
newspaper in June 1851. "After the
disappointing reaction of the public,"
"Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert," commissioned the recutting and polishing of
Kohinoor in 1852. "So that light
could be reflected better," and it
could shine more. He wanted people to be
mesmerised by looking at it.
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"But due to this process," Kohinoor lost 40% of its weight. "It used to be 186 carats," "and after the recutting and
polishing," it was left with 105.6
carats. "presently, the dimensions
of Kohinoor diamond are" Kohinoor
is now about as big as a chicken's egg. "Moving
on with our story," "when the
British got their hands on Kohinoor,"
they too were scared of the Curse of Kohinoor. "So going forward, the British Royal
Family decided" that they wouldn't
give the Kohinoor to a man. "When
the monarch would be male," the
Queen Consort would be the one to wear the Kohinoor. "And that why's over the next
years," "when the British
throne was passed on," Kohinoor
always went to the Queen. "Eventually,
it became a part of the Crown Jewels."
"It was first put in Queen Alexandra's crown," "then in Queen Mary's," "and finally in 1937," it was embedded in the crown worn by the mother of the present Queen of
England. "The Queen Mother's
funeral was held in 2002," when the
crown was last seen in public. "Currently,
this crown and the Kohinoor," can
be found in the Tower of London's "Waterloo
barracks," in the Jewel House
inside it. They are kept there. "Over the last 800 years of Kohinoor's
history," the British monarchy has
been the owner of Kohinoor for the longest.
Kohinoor has been with them for 173 years.
Now let's return to the topic. Many Indians feel quite emotional towards the
Kohinoor. Shashi Tharoor's 2015 Oxford
Union speech had become very famous. """India's
share of the world economy" "when
Britain arrived on its shores," was
23%. "By the time the British
left," it was down to below 4%. "India was already Britain's biggest
cash cow," "the world's
biggest purchaser of British goods,"
"and exports..."""
His arguments were praised by Prime Minister Modi as well. He laid out the economic and prosperity
potential lost by India due to British
colonialism. And Kohinoor is now a
symbol of this British colonialism. The
question is whether the Kohinoor diamond
"was stolen by the British from India," or was it a gift? That was given to them in exchange of the
deal. "1 year after Shashi Tharoor's
2015 speech," "in 2016, a
petition was filed in the Supreme Court by an NGO." The petition stated that the government
should get the Kohinoor back. That the
Indian government should demand that the
British government return the diamond.
"But Ranjith
Kumar, the government's representative in court," "said that the diamond was a part of the
Lahore Treaty," "neither has
it been stolen nor taken forcefully,"
and to try to get it back would be futile. "Later, the Archaeological Survey of India
said on behalf of the government " that
they would try their best to get back the Kohinoor using friendly ways. It was said that the arguments by Mr Kumar did not represent the views of the
government. "But legally
speaking," there are no legal grounds
for Kohinoor's return to India. "The
only legal route present here," is
the 1970 UNESCO Convention. The
Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing "the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer
of" Ownership of Cultural Property.
"The cultural heritage of the country that was taken to
another illegally," "through
unfair means," But there are two
problems with this convention. "First,
it cannot be applied retrospectively."
"The cultural heritage that was taken before 1970," does not have to be mandatorily returned. And the other thing is that "Cultural Heritage has been defined in
Article 1 of the Convention," "as
a property which, on religious or secular grounds," is specifically designated by each State "as being of importance for
archaeology," "prehistory,
history, literature, art or science"
"The second problem is that even if the cultural heritage is returned," which country should get it? "The situation is quite
complicated," "because of the
present borders drawn between the countries," are quite recent. "The kingdoms which existed before
this,"
"during the monarchies," "had dynamic borders, which were redrawn
very often." "Today, the
sovereign territories of" "India,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan," exist
only after their Independence. "Before
this, there used to be kingdoms." "Technically
speaking," Kohinoor diamond has not
been taken from the sovereign territories of
"India, Afghanistan, or Pakistan." Because those territories were created only
after a specific date. But the Kohinoor
was taken before that from kingdoms. Another
question here is whom should Kohinoor be
returned to? "In Afghanistan,
Taliban's spokesperson said in 2000,"
that they want Kohinoor back in their country. "In 2016, a petition was filed in
Pakistan's Lahore High Court," because
the British had stolen the Kohinoor from
present-day Pakistan. Because the
capital of the Sikh empire was Lahore. "Anthropologist
Richard Kurin says that logically,"
Kohinoor can be returned to several countries.
"Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and even Iran" can rightfully claim the ownership of this
diamond. "Because back then,
stealing and plundering used to be quite common." "But back then, none of these countries
existed." "Even though,
geographically, their regions existed."
It should be differentiated from other events "for example, the cultural heritage
stolen by the Nazis," where it can
be clearly seen the country the theft
took place in. Because these countries
existed already. "Emotionally as
well, Richard Kurin says" we should
let go of Kohinoor forever. "So
that its dark history is not repeated,"
and it is allowed to rest at its final resting place. What is your opinion? Write in the comment section below. Should the government try to get Kohinoor
back? Or should we let it be there? "If you liked the blog," you can see more mystery related blog by
clicking on this main . Let's meet in
the next blog.
Thank you very much!