After repeated calls from different sections of the masses, the UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, has stated that the Koh-I-Noor will not leave its perch in the UK. The stern statement was made by the British Prime Minister Cameron during his trip to India to fructify multiple political and economical pacts. He was asked about the fate of one of the most coveted diamonds of the world by a leading new channel in India known as NDTV. As per Cameron, the Koh-I-Noor diamond cannot be returned to India as it would set a dangerous precedent for the UK. According to him, if he sends back the Koh-I-Noor to the Indian people then the museums of Britain would be emptied as other items of value would also have to be returned.

Another case like the call for the return of the Koh-I-Noor to India is that of the Greeks. Greece has for many years been calling for the Elgin Marbles to be returned to it, as according to them it was removed from the Parthenon by the Earl of Elgin and taken to London some two centuries ago.

The call for the repatriation of the Koh-I-Noor, once the largest of the diamonds in the world, was started by one Tushar Gandhi who is the great grandson of the Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most famous propagators of peace and non violence along with Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. As per the great freedom fighter’s great grandson, the Koh-I-Noor diamond must be returned to the people of India as a symbol of British atonement for their colonial past.

The call has created a lot of ruckus in the media and political circles of the two countries, with many experts and politicians getting involved. One expert in diamonds, specifically the Crown Jewels, even stated that all diamonds in the world that date back to before the 18th century trace their origins to India because the region that is now Andhra Pradesh was where the first diamonds were mined.

As many supporters as this drive for the return of the Koh-I-Noor to India has garnered, there are also opponents against it. One such opponent of the now almost concluded call for the diamond’s repatriation is a well known historian, Anna Keay. As per Keay, the call for the repatriation of the Koh-I-Noor should not be honored because it has had multiple owners since it was found in the Guntur region of the Kakatiya kingdom which is now the state of Andhra Pradesh of India. The justification behind such logic, as per Keay, is that it is part of an historical cultural exchange.

As per documented historical evidence, it is believed that the current state of Andhra Pradesh of India was the only known source of diamonds up until diamonds were discovered in the country of Brazil in 1730. Since then, the ownership of the Koh-I-Noor diamond has changed multiple times with Hindu, Persian, Mughal, Afghan and Sikh rulers laying claim to it. The series of ownership continues up till the East India Company, which laid hold of the invaluable diamond in the 19th century and gifted it to Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria was proclaimed the Empress of India in 1877 with the Koh-I-Noor becoming a part of the Crown Jewels. The name of the Koh-I-Noor is derived from Persian and translates directly to “mountain of light”.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the Koh-I-Noor diamond is that it is believed to be cursed. The Koh-I-Noor’s curse was first found in an old Hindu text dating back to 1730, when it was first discovered. As per the direct translation of the curse, any man who possesses the highly coveted diamond will ‘own the world but will also know all its misfortunes’. The myth of the curse has been further fuelled owing to the fact that every man who has owned the Koh-I-Noor has either lost his kingdom or suffered some other type of misfortune. The current owners also seem to conform to the curse as the Koh-I-Noor has not been worn by any monarch other than Queen Victoria. Furthermore, on every occasion that the monarch has been male, the diamond has been passed on to his wife.

The controversy of the ownership of the Koh-I-Noor seems to have been settled for now, but there is no saying when the call will be taken up again as every state visit from the UK or India almost always results in a request for the repatriation of the Koh-I-Noor.

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