#history
Kohinoor Diamond.
The Kohinoor is one of the most famous and precious diamonds in the world.
The magnificent Kohinoor Diamond is now a part of the crown of the British Monarch.
Celebrated author William Darlymple writes:
“Indians claim that Shah Shujah Durrani, ruler of the Durrani Empire in present day Afghanistan from 1803-1809, gave the diamond to Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikhs.
But Shah Shujah’s autobiography clearly mentions that his son was tortured by Maharaja Ranjit Singh before he took away the precious diamond. So if the Indian case rests on the claim that the British took it by force, so did the Indians.”
However Kushwant Singh, in his biography of Maharaja Ranjit Singh gives a more accurate picture of the history.
The diamond was in the possession of the Kakatiya dynasty till 1323. The Khilji dynasty took possession of it after looting the temple of Warangal.
From 1526 to 1730 the precious diamond was in the possession of the Mughal dynasty. The Afghan king Ahmedshah Abdali took possession after murdering Nadir Shah. The diamond was named Kohi-noor in Persian ( Mountain of Light ). Abdali was also murdered in 1772.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh took possession in 1813.
In 1850 Lord Dalhousie of the British East India Company took the diamond to England and gifted it to Queen Victoria.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
p.s: The Kohinoor Diamond was initially mined from the Kollur mines of South India. The diamond was cut, polished, and fitted on the crown by Prince Albert, the royal consort of Queen Victoria.
– Joy Kallivayalil .
