MPs in the lok Sabha on Thursday made a strong plea to bring back the famed ‘Kohinoor’ diamond that was held by Mughal emperors for long before it reached British rulers.
The demand made by the Biju Janta Dal (BJD) member Bhartruhari Mahtab got ready support from several members including those from BJP ally Akali Dal.
Raising the issue in Zero Hour, Mahtab dismissed the talk that the diamond was given as a gift to the British and insisted that it was taken by them as forcibly from Duleep Singh, son of noted Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Giving historical evidence, Mahtab said the situation in which the diamond went to the British after the 1849 Ango-Sikh war was vividly described in a letter written by the British political agent stationed in lahore to Governor General lord Dalhousie. Referring to the letter , he said the Maharaja Rajnit Singh wanted to donate the diamond to the Puri temple like he had made gifts to the Golden Temple and Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The BJD MP also claimed that Kohinoor was the ‘syamantak mani’ associated with lord Krishna. Asserting that Kohinoor was the prestige of the nation, he said the way it had gone to the Queen of England was an “act of cheating” and a “surrender under duress”.
Mahtab said India should impress upon the UK to give the diamond back notwithstanding their Prime Minister’s statement that the British Museums and treasury would be empty if it returned all its treasures.
In an obvious reference to Vijay Mallya, he recalled that the sword of Tipu Sultan was brought back to the country from the “tainted money of a liquor baron whose passport has recently been revoked.”