The issue of the Kohinoor diamond and its ownership seems to have struck a chord in readers where one reader has said “it would be graceless act to demand its return after so much time has passed” (“Letters”, April 23). I disagree. It would have been a more graceful act on the part of the United Kingdom to return it to the rightful “owner” as any property that has been stolen does belong to its rightful owner. His additional point that “Indians have received a more valuable gift from the British in the form of the English language and introduced us to many benefits” is again debatable. The British imposed the English language on us only to meet the needs of what I call secretarial assistance and to further their commercial and economic interests. It was no gift or even a benevolent move to help enrich us.
Somasekhara Rao,Tirupati
When important files in our secretariats go missing at the drop of a hat, how can we be trusted to look after a diamond? Though it is important to preserve our rich heritage, doing battle with the U.K. over the precious stone is not a wise idea. We need to be focussing on how to get back black money and enhancing the economic status of our country. We lost a lot during colonial rule and must draw lessons from that dark chapter.
R. Parasuram,Chennai
The fact is that diamonds became popular in the world only because of India as, historically, most large diamonds were from here. To the British, there were two jewels in the crown. The first of these was always India. Most of our treasures are in a bad state and we lack the interest and funds to look after them in a safe and secure environment. It is best that these artefacts are left where they lie now.
H.N. Ramakrishna,Bengaluru
