India’s PM Modi eyes return of Kohinoor, thousands of other treasures from Britain
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India is set to kick off a diplomatic campaign to press for the return of the Kohinoor, and thousands of treasures taken by the British during their colonial exploits in the Indian subcontinent.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will soon begin a diplomatic campaign to reclaim the Kohinoor diamond and thousands of other treasures taken by Britain during their centuries-long colonial exploits in the Indian subcontinent.
The diplomatic campaign is reportedly dubbed as "reckoning with the past" and is set to be the largest repatriation claim faced by the United Kingdom.
"It is of huge importance to the government. The thrust of this effort to repatriate India's artifacts comes from the personal commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made it a major priority," Govind Mohan, secretary for India's culture ministry, was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
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Diplomats in London will make formal requests to institutions holding artifacts seized as spoils of war or collected by enthusiasts during the colonial rule. The process is due to begin this year, The Telegraph report added.
India's reckoning with colonial history: Return of Koh-i-noor in particular focus
The Indian government's goal is to secure the return of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, one of the Crown Jewels currently held by the recently crowned King Charles III.
The British Royal family has been in possession of the Kohinoor since 1849 CE, ever since a 10-year-old boy King, Maharaja Duleep Singh was forced to sign the Treaty of Lahore in 1849. Queen Victoria wore the Kohinoor as a brooch.
ALSO READ | Opinion | Who does the Kohinoor belong to?
Till this date, sections of British media just like Britain's history books state that the Kohinoor was a gift for Britain from India or that "it was handed over to the East India Company".
But a crucial omission from the British version of Kohinoor's history remains that the British took it from a 10-year-old boy king, when his mother was a prisoner of the British. India's historians in past have unanimously pointed out with documentary evidence that Kohinoor went to the British from India under "colonial coercion".
Kohinoor, Amaravati Marbles: What did the British take from India?
While Kohinoor is widely perceived as a symbol of British colonial conquest in the Indian subcontinent, it is just the tip of the iceberg of total wealth drained from the region by the Raj.
In terms of monetary value, Britain drained a total of nearly $45 trillion worth of wealth from India during the period 1765 to 1938, according to economist Utsa Patnaik’s 2018 research.
ALSO WATCH | Koh-i-noor diamond a 'symbol of conquest' in new display of Crown Jewels
Apart from the Kohinoor, Taimur's Ruby, Gem-encrusted tiger head owned by Tipu Sultan, Tipu Sultan's Tiger, Amaravati Marbles, Lord Harihara idol, Shah Jahan's wine cups, Maharaja Ranjit Singh's throne, and a number of artifacts depicting Hindu gods have been kept by the British.
"If it belonged to us, and it is somewhere else, then it should be returned to us. The right place for someone’s property is with them," an official source was quoted as saying by the British.
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