As Queen Departs, Twitterati Demands Kohinoor’s Return To India

New Delhi: After the death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II, social media chatter demanding the return of the Kohinoor diamond to India.

With her son Prince Charles succeeding to the throne, the 105-carat diamond, which is steeped in history, will go to his wife Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, who has now become Queen consort.

Kohinoor, which means ‘Mountain of Light’, is a large, colourless diamond that was found in southern India in the early 14th century.

A Twitter user posted a clip from the Bollywood film Dhoom 2 in which the character played by Hrithik Roshan steals a diamond from a running train.

“Hrithik Roshan on the way to get back our heera, moti; Kohinoor from the British Museum to India” the user posted. Another user @gomathi17183538 alleged that Queen Elizabeth II was an “active participant in colonialism”.

“Now can we get our Kohinoor back? A reminder that Queen Elizabeth is not a remnant of colonial times. She was an active participant in colonialism.” Gomathi said. Asish Raz tweeted, “Sadly, the queen passed away. Now, can we expect our Kohinoor back?”

The Kohinoor diamond was “surrendered” by the Maharaja of Lahore to the then Queen of England and “not handed over” to the British nearly 170 years ago, the Archaeological Survey of India replied to an RTI query a few years ago.

However, the Indian government’s stand in the Supreme Court was that the diamond, estimated to cost over $200 million, was neither stolen nor “forcibly” taken by British rulers but given to East India Company by erstwhile rulers of Punjab.