The Crime Desk: Charles III will be inaugurated as the 40th King of Britain today, May 6, Saturday. A few months ago, Buckingham Palace announced that the Kohinoor diamond would not be used during King Charles’ coronation. News BBC.
Kohinoor: This diamond is associated with the succession of different dynasties, the history of death and destruction, and its beauty. This gem not only survives from generation to generation. It was stolen. It has been fought over. Many analysts call this diamond ‘cursed’ due to its history of death and deprivation.
This 150-carat oval Kohinur is the most controversial and talked-about diamond in the world.
This precious diamond has changed hands many times. In the middle of the 19th century, this diamond was taken over by the British. It has gone through the hands of Mughal Shahzadas, Iranian warriors, Afghan rulers, and Punjabi Maharajas and has been placed in the Tower of London.
But it wasn’t always in this place. Over time, many stories have been created about Kohinoor. A lot of history and a lot of legends are also associated with this diamond.
The diamond was the special property of Queen Victoria, who originally wore it as a brooch and eventually made it part of the Crown Jewels.
It was first seen in public in 2002, on top of the Queen Mother’s coffin after her death. Many Indians believe that these diamonds were stolen from their country by the British. The word Kohinoor started trending on Twitter after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
Many Indians called for the return of the diamond. William Dalrymple and Anita Anand wrote about the myths surrounding this diamond in their book “Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond”.
There are myths surrounding the Kohinoor.
When the Kohinoor came into the hands of the then Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie, in 1849, he prepared to send it to Queen Victoria. Lord Dalhousie thought of showing the queen how valuable the diamond was. So he decided to send an official history of the diamond along with it.
He accordingly appointed a junior assistant magistrate of Delhi, Theo Metcalfe. Metcalf’s task was to research the history of the Kohinoor and prepare a report based on that research.
But he could not do much good. In his report, he mentioned the stories that were already prevalent about Kohinoor. However, since then, thousands of new articles and books have been published, and many documentaries have been made using his report as a reference.
Dalrymple and Anand’s aim was to remove the exaggerated stories and bring out something real. And many critics say they do a pretty good job of that. Nowadays, many people rely on this book to know the real history of Kohinoor.
This book has written about some myths about Kohinoor; some of them are presented here.
Myth 1: India’s finest diamond
Many consider the Kohinoor to be one of the most valuable diamonds in India, but researchers have found that when the 190.3-carat Kohinoor was brought to Britain, at least two other similar diamonds were found.
One is the Darya-e-Noor, meaning Sea of Light (175–195 carats), and the other is the Orlov diamond (189.9 carats), known as the “Great Mughal Diamond”.
These three diamonds left India in 1739, when the Iranian ruler Nadir Shah looted the treasure.
Only in the early 19th century, when the Kohinoor was transferred back to the Punjab, did it begin to receive the title of the greatest diamond, and greater interest was generated worldwide.
Myth 2: The perfect diamond
Many believe that the real Kohinoor may have been perfect. But there were many yellow spots on Kohinoor. Some of the blemishes were so large that they caused the diamond to lose its ability to reflect light properly.
That’s why Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, was so keen to recut the diamond.
Another important point is that Kohinoor is not the world’s largest diamond; it is not even close to being the world’s largest diamond. Its position is 90th. As a result, many tourists visiting the Tower of London are surprised by its shape.
because the Kohinoor appears to be much smaller when compared to the two Kalinan diamonds placed right next to the Kohinoor diamond.
Myth 3: It comes from Kollur mines in India.
Many claim that the Kohinoor diamond was found in the Kollur mines of India in the 13th century. But it is not possible to be sure when and where it was actually lifted. And this uncertainty makes it all the more mysterious.
Many believe that Kohinoor is the Simantaka Mani of the Bhagavad Purana written about Krishna, and interestingly, Theo Metcalfe’s report also mentions this. There he wrote, ‘The diamond of Kohinoor was lifted during Krishna’s lifetime’.
But Dalrymple and Anand’s book insists that the Kohinoor was not mined but rather from a dry river bed in South India.
Myth 4: Kohinoor was the prized treasure of the Mughals.
It cannot be denied that diamonds are precious gems. It is a precious gem, especially to Hindus and Sikhs. But the cases of the Mughals and Iranians are somewhat different. They preferred large, perfect, brightly colored stones more than diamonds. And that is why many researchers do not think the claim that the Kohinoor diamond is the most valuable treasure of the Mughals is reasonable.
The Mughal treasury contained many valuable treasures. Kohinoor Diamond is one of them. But it was not diamonds that the Mughals acquired the most. Rather, they were more inclined towards Lohitaka of Badakhshan and Padmaragamani of Burma.
The indifference of the Mughals towards the Kohinoor, or diamond, is also proved by another incident. It is said that the diamond that the Mughal emperor gave as a gift to Shah Tahmasp of Persia during his exile as ‘Babur’s Diamond” actually belonged to Kohinoor.
Babur’s diamond later returned to the south, but exactly when or how it returned to the Mughal court remains unclear.
Myth 5: Exchange of turbans and possession of Kohinoor
This story is very popular: Mohammad Shah Rangela used to hide Kohinoor inside his turban. Nadir Shah came to know about this, and he devised a strategy. He reminds Mohammad Shah of an ancient custom of exchanging turbans as a sign of friendship when two kings meet. Little did Mohammad Shah realize that Nadir Shah was actually trying to take away the diamond.
However, under the circumstances of that time, it was not possible for him to refuse Nadir Shah’s invitation to friendship by refusing to exchange the turban. So he was forced to exchange the turban. Thus, Nadir Shah became the owner of the turban and Kohinoor.
But Marvi, a Persian historian, says that it was not actually possible for Mohammad Shah to hide the diamond in his turban. At that time, the Kohinoor was the most beautiful and valuable diamond of all time, shining in the midst of Shah Jahan’s peacock throne.
According to many researchers, its luster was so mesmerizing that it was also added to the ruby, emerald, and pearl-encrusted peacock throne of the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, and this diamond shone on Shah Jahan’s throne for many years.
After the creation of the throne, the Mughals ruled India for a century.
But the vast wealth of the country became famous around the world, and the Persian ruler Nadir Shah decided to invade India.
In 1739, he entered Delhi and looted the wealth of the city. He used 700 elephants, 4000 camels, and 12000 horses to carry them to his country.
Among the spoils was the throne, with which the Kohinoor left India for the first time. The Shah removed the Kohinoor diamond from the throne and placed it on an armband, which he always wore on his arm.
Then the diamond changed hands and went to Afghanistan, where it remained for 70 years after a bloody war between the rulers. By 1813, it had returned to India and been taken over by the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh.
Then the British East India Company heard rumors of a priceless treasure called the Kohinoor diamond and began efforts to collect it. To the then Governor General of India, Lord Dalhousie, the diamond was the ultimate symbol of power. He wanted Britain to own the jewel of India.
Myth 6: Kohinoor was cut carelessly.
According to the French gem merchant and tourist John-Baptiste Tavernier, he obtained permission to visit the personal jewelry collection of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. According to this French gem merchant, Hortensio Borgio, the emperor’s sculptor, accidentally cut a diamond too large. As a result, the shape of the diamond is lost, and it becomes smaller.
But he identified the diamond as the “Great Mughal Diamond,” which Shahjahan had received as a gift from the diamond merchant Mir Jumla.
Until a time, many believed that the ‘Great Mughal Diamond’ might be Kohinoor. But many researchers today agree that it was actually an Orlov diamond. Which is now part of the Kremlin Museum in Moscow and shines there.
It has been stolen and moved numerous times during the Kohinoor’s long history. Its history of change is very strange.
So the question remains: where can this diamond go next? Apart from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran have also been claiming these precious diamonds.
Analysts say this diamond is a ‘symbol of the dominance of the victorious British Empire’. However, the history and controversy surrounding this diamond will continue. The Kohinoor diamond is not being used at the inauguration of King Charles because of the controversy. And so it can be said that the history of the world’s most famous and controversial diamond will continue to be written for ages.
