The famous Kohinoor diamond of the British crown is unlikely to be returned to India as the growing demand for the diamond’s return is based on weak legal grounds.
Alok Sharma, Minister of Asia and Pacific affairs of the government of the United Kingdom indicated on Tuesday that probably it will never find its way to India. “As far as this issue is concerned, there is no legal grounds for restitution,” Mr. Sharma said.
His comments reflected the British strategy on the rare diamond which is set in the crown of the British monarch.
The comment from the visiting Minister came days after it was reported in the media that a meeting was held between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Culture Mahesh Sharma to discuss the technical challenges in bringing the diamond back to India.
One of the chief problems facing the diamond is that it was sent out of India in the nineteenth century when the independent state of India was yet to be born.
In a submission to the Supreme Court in April, the government had admitted that the diamond was neither “forcibly taken” nor “stolen” but was a “gift” from the rulers of Punjab to the East India Company. But following public criticism of the submission, the government said that it would try to bring the diamond back.
Mr. Sharma said his visit is aimed at the future of India-UK ties based on greater commerce and old issues like returning of precious artefacts may not be high on the agenda of the government of Prime Minister Theresa May of the U.K.
