Koh-i-Noor: India sues the Queen for return of ‘stolen’ £100m diamond
Dear friends,
I find this ‘simple’ article has many ramifications. If India wins this case, it opens up an avalanche of many other items that the British has taken from India. What I find interesting is this statement from Historian Andrew Roberts told the Mail on Sunday: “Those involved in this ludicrous case should recognise that the British Crown Jewels is precisely the right place for the Koh-i-Noor diamond to reside, in grateful recognition for over three centuries of British involvement in India, which led to the modernisation, development, protection, agrarian advance, linguistic unification and ultimately the democratisation of the sub-continent.” My question is did India ask Britain to get involved in India for three hundred years? If India was so welcoming, why did they finally evict the British as China did to Britain of Hong Kong? Why do the British think they have the right to colonize other cultures and lands and then turn around and say they are doing them a favor? Who wants to be colonized? How much wealth, labor and time did the British take of colonized countries like India and Hong Kong? What right do they have to do this?
Tsem Rinpoche
The Koh-i-Noor stone in the Queen Mother’s crown Rex Features
The diamond can only be worn by a woman or a god, according to legend
by Emma Henderson
It was once the world’s largest-known diamond, is worth a reported £100m and is currently part of Britain’s crown jewels.
But India wants it back.
Bollywood stars and businessmen have united to instruct lawyers to begin legal proceedings in London’s High Court to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
The diamond was in the crown worn by the Queen Mother at the coronation of her husband King George VI in 1937 and again at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.
The Queen Mother, wearing the crown with the Koh-i-Noor stone at King George VI’s coronation, 1937.
The group, which has called itself the “Mountain of Light” after the translation of the stone’s name, say that the 105-carat diamond was stolen from its true home in India and are demanding that the UK Government returns it.
The stone is “one of the many artefacts taken from India under dubious circumstances”, according to David de Souza from the Indian leisure group Tito’s.
Souza claims the British colonisation of India had stolen wealth and “destroyed the country’s psyche”.
The jewel was given to the reigning Queen of the time by the last ruler of the Sikhs, Duleep Singh, after the British annexe of the Punjab.
Bollywood star Bhumicka Singh, also part of the group, said: “The Koh-i-noor is not just a 105-carat stone, but part of our history and culture and should undoubtedly be returned.”
British Lawyers instructed by the “Mountain of Light” group to return the stone, said they would base their case on the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act, which gives national institutions in the UK the power to return stolen art.
Satish Jakhu, of Birmingham-based law firm Rubric Lois King, said they would make their claim under the common law doctrine of “trespass to goods”, arguing that the government had stolen the diamond. He added that they would be taking their case to the International Court of Justice.
Historian Andrew Roberts told the Mail on Sunday: “Those involved in this ludicrous case should recognise that the British Crown Jewels is precisely the right place for the Koh-i-Noor diamond to reside, in grateful recognition for over three centuries of British involvement in India, which led to the modernisation, development, protection, agrarian advance, linguistic unification and ultimately the democratisation of the sub-continent.”
The disagreement of ownership draws parallels to the case of the Elgin Marbles. The ancient sculpture is currently held at the British Museum, which Greece wants returned.
According to legend, the gem can only be worn by God or women, and whoever wears the jewel will become extremely powerful, but if a man wears it, he will meet an unfortunate end.
The jewel was also in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary. It remains in the Queen Mother’s crown, which sat atop her coffin at her funeral in 2002.
The UK Government has so far rejected the claims.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/india-sues-the-queen-for-return-of-stolen-100m-koh-i-noor-diamond-a6725951.html
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Amazing the world’s largest-known diamond, said to be worth £100m is in Queen Mother’s crown. I did google for more information . It seem that the stone was presented to Queen Victoria in 1851 and was mined at Kollur Mine, India. But some claimed that it was stolen wealth and requested it be returned to India. They even went to the extend to sue the Queen. Well this precious diamond have lot of history and culture as told by some and that’s the reason they wanted it returned.
Thank you Rinpoche for this interesting sharing.
colonization is still happening in a more subtle indirect way – everyone is now multi ethnic and multi lingual, barely anyone left in UK who is purely “English”, all of the Americas – North America, Central America, South America – indigenous populations a minority in what was historically their own country – where their being technologically disadvantaged and having a less developed infrastructure/anachronistic political system lead them to be colonised, Aborigines a minority in Australia, and yet – so much space in Australia no wonder people went there to take advantage of the opportunities for a new life, seems inevitable
no country wants to be colonized, that’s how the conquistadors took Central and South America, Brits took over India, HK, parts of Africa, history can’t be reversed, however, it’s not 100% evil – watch the film “The Life of Brian” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python's_Life_of_Brian – a complaint is made about the Roman Empire – when they brought literacy, sanitation, roads, healthcare, education . . .
What comes to mind reading this article is ‘Winner takes All’, which is samsaric and very opposite to spirituality, more like might is right. Well there is always something called karma, those who are weak now can be strong later and vice versa.
Colonization is a product of supremacy; believing oneself is in a state that is far more superior to all others in authority, power, or status. This belief justify the “self” to rob, steal and take pleasure and properties from the rest who they deemed inferior, who suffered, as a result, without a voice. Therefore it is wrong view to think that the precious Koh-i-Noor is a gesture of gratitude from the native community. It is lame and hollow to even state that the British colonization leads to modernization and advancement in India; if this logic is to apply in our society today, we should be allowed to freely venture into our rich neighbor’s house, occupy as long as we like, utilize all the readily available resources and leave taking all the precious possession of the owner.
No matter how strong a person, community, race, nation is, it will not last forever. There will be a day when the tides are turned. Hence it is better to make amends when one still can rather than wait for karma to ripen for the repercussion could be unbearable then.
Thank You Rinpoche for this post that triggers thoughts on what is right and what is wrong on a broader level.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella Cheang
To many of us, it may seem that the Koh-i-Noor diamond is just an ordinary diamond which happened to be the largest diamond.
I kind of understand how India feels, but I would say that what they are doing is pointless. I’m pretty sure that the British has taken a lot of artifacts from various countries during the Wars, therefore it is absolutely impossible for them to return the diamond.
Because once they start returning, soon they will have to start returning everything. However, I still think that the British should not occupy things that do not belong to them. All these individual items should be returned to their respective countries and to be put into the museum.
Koh-i-Noor is not just a 105-carat piece of stone. It has a lot of history and culture attached to it, and undoubtedly should be returned to India. Not only India, various other countries also voiced the same concern to get back their stolen and looted antiquities and to join the international campaign. ..Shouldn’t the British return the Indian wealth or at least the Indian art and treasures like the Kohinoor diamond ? That’s question mark now we have to wait and see… Thank you Rinpoche for the nice interesting article…
This is an interesting article. The world biggest 105 carat of diamond which belongs to India is now in the England’s. It is true that England have colonize many countries and bring the country to another level or modernization. But, look carefully, the modernization’s happened not because of the England / British intended to made us in par with the world, it is because easy for them to introduce convenient as their comfort.
In reading this, I couldn’t help but think of a few parallels with Shugden practitioners…
Sure, it’s a diamond but the diamond is precious to India for its symbolism and the 300 years of theft, pillage, rape and subjugation of the country that it represents. Is it therefore wrong for Indian citizens to stand up for themselves, and to use legal means to attempt to retrieve their rightful property?
For Shugden practitioners, our diamond is our practice and our commitment to our lamas. Is it therefore so wrong for Shugden practitioners to use legal means to defend themselves when they are harassed, hounded and abused by those who are in support of the ban?
In the case of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the British weren’t invited to India. India was just fine before the invasion and colonisation of their lands by the British, whose opinions were unwelcome, unwanted and unwarranted. This is just like how anti-Shugden people’s opinions are unwelcome, unwanted and unwarranted in our practices.
And you know, for 300 years, the whole world thought it was right for Britain to colonise India and to abuse its people. Eventually, the peaceful actions of one individual (Gandhi) brought about the liberation of an entire subcontinent.
In the case of Shugdenpas, the whole world thinks it’s right for Dharamsala to subjugate, oppress and marginalise Shugden practitioners. Why? For no reason other than “Because the Dalai Lama said so”. Shugdenpas have the truth against the juggernaut of His Holiness’ good reputation, just like how Indians had the truth against the juggernaut of Britain’s military force. Eventually however, the peaceful actions of the Shugdenpas who stand up only for the truth of religious freedom, will liberate us from this oppressive ban.
Of course the British government would reject the claims of the Indian citizens who are bringing this lawsuit about, because to accept their claims would be to accept that they unlawfully removed the diamond from India, and that their presence in India was unlawful.
So is there any wonder why Dharamsala continues to uphold the ban, when every logical person can see how unlawful and undemocratic it is? Because to lift the ban would be their admission that for 19 years, they have abused, marginalised and ostracised Shugden practitioners and that their actions were wrong. So maybe their upholding the ban isn’t really about upholding the truth, but about defending themselves so they can protect their ego…
The definition of theft is when you take something without asking for permission. Assumed permission is not permission.
It is wrong the those in power would take advantage of the weak and simply take possession of their assets. In simple words, it is called bullying. If the leaders of a nation display such attitude and behavior, what do they expect from those they lead? How does racial intolerance arise? From this type of bullying and sense of entitlement.
I hope the international courts will be a beacon of light and justice for the world to see that we are rising as a race – the human race.
If you have visited the British Museum, you will know of some of the treasures, such as the Parthenon marbles and the Rosetta stone, which are examples of treasures gained by plunder. The Chinese government claims the museum holds 23,000 artefacts looted in the 19th century from Beijing alone.
Attempts to claim of return rarely succeed. Also, in the case of Koh-i-Noor for example, some people refuted and said that it didn’t belong to India but to the Kakatiya dynasty. It can’t be returned to its original owners because they no longer exist. At most it can go back to the land where those owners lived.
Such claims of return would also establish the principle that anything taken without authorisation from a foreign site should be returned to it. This can lead to global repatriation, which would affect great museums worldwide, and hence, no one wants to be responsible for opening the floodgates.
Having said that, colonialism left deep wounds around the world, and countries like Britain should atone for their pillage, at least by returning these treasures to the country of origins. They have reaped enough profit and plundered the land and people of the many countries the colonised.
I find it distasteful that they have cited The British Museum Act 1963 and said that it prevents the national museums from removing items and they have no intention to change the law.
I agree with Rinpoche… that NO ONE asked the British to colonize their country… so really it is extremely arrogant and rude to think let alone say that the country they colonized should have “gratitude”. Oh my Buddha it is like rapist raping a girl and then saying to the girl, you should have gratitude!
When the British invaded and colonize all these countries; India, Malaysia and many more… it is literally like raping the country for all their wealth and all it’s worth and using the people, exploiting them for centuries for their own profit.
Yes they did introduce certain systems and education but I don’t think that justifies for all the exploitation, pain and suffering they caused to these countries let alone be considered something worth “recognising” in a proud sense.
If the British government wants to remain respectful and honourable, they should graciously return the diamond to India and all of the other things they’ve stolen from other countries like Greece.
It is typical of the British to be arrogant and pompous and to reject the claim but I don’t think India will stand their ground in reclaiming what is rightfully belonging to them for whatever reasons. Sigh samsara… it never ends, people are always fighting for something they think “belongs” to them, be it a diamond, a statue or a country due to human greed for either fame, power or fortune. For the Brit I guess this is karma returning. You definitely can’t steal something from a country and hope to get away for it forever.
No one has the right to colonize others. For a historian to make a public statement like this is arrogant and offensive. How does taking a country’s treasure be justified as a sign of gratitude from the country? As Rinpoche pointed out, if the British were so good and beneficial to the Indians, they wouldn’t have fought for their independence.
I feel that the British should be gracious and return everything they took from countries around the world as they have made tremendous profits over the centuries from these countries. This is the least they can do to make up for the suppression and sufferings they created from centuries of colonization.