The Hindu : The Kohinoor bauble

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 09, 2003

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - This Day That Age

The Kohinoor bauble

From the Editorials: "The Government of India have not at any stage contemplated asking for the return of the Koh-i-Noor, as it was not an art object, and it now forms a part of the British Crown jewels." That categorical statement of Maulana Azad's should dispose of the spate of speculation in this country and in Britain, which found a certain warrant in the vague replies to questions given by a junior Minister earlier. But how did the Education Minister come to the conclusion that the famous diamond was not an "art object"? If the Koh-i-Noor is not an object d'art, it may be legitimately described as an "antique" or "rarity". Apparently, the reason that has been decisive with the Government is that the Koh-i-Noor now forms "a part of the British Crown jewels" and so may be "readily available by purchase or negotiation." Curiously, the British press has not been so ready to assume that the fact of the diamond being part of the Crown jewels must be regarded as a conclusive reason why India should not ask for it.Of course, all the papers except The Daily Worker have vigorously opposed the return of the jewel, the lion lying down with the lamb, in other words, The Daily Mirror enthusiastically agreeing with The Daily Express.How it came into the company's possession is told in an extract from The Times of May 27, 1851. The famous diamond, with much else, might have been spoils of war after the battle of Sobraon in 1846. But though the British stayed at the request of the defeated Sikhs till order could be restored, they were magnanimous enough to allow the treasures "to remain in the hands of their original owners." In 1848, however, it became "apparent that the Sikh chiefs were bent on hostilities" and so the political agent at Lahore — happily relieved of the obligation to remain magnanimous — "gave directions to impound the Koh-i-Noor, an order which was executed accordingly without bloodshed or confusion." "But was it `lawful prize'?" It joyfully went on to find for the question an answer which was characteristically Victorian. "The question of its disposal may have been a doubtful one, but nobody can regret the decision which transferred such a prize to the English Crown and rendered it what it virtually is at present, the property of the British people, for all purposes to which a sparkling bauble can be turned." It really matters little that what Delane though was the property of the British people — obtained by rather dubious means — The Daily Mirror regards as the property of the Queen. The British lion is unchanged in its attitude: "What we have, we hold."

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