Apart from the controversy over Kohinoor, its origin and how it changed hands is interesting. Kohinoor’s origin and history have not been conclusively established. By some accounts, it was a royal treasure as back as 3000 BC. It is widely believed to have come from Lollur Mines in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh during the reign of the Hindu Kakatiya dynasty in the 13th century. In the early 14th century, Alauddin Khilji and his army began looting the kingdoms of southern India. Mailk Kafur, Khilji’s general, made a successful raid on Warangal in 1310, when he possibly acquired the diamond.

Kohinoor remained with Khilji dynasty and later passed to the successive dynasties of Delhi Sultanate, until it came in possession of Babur, who invaded India and established the Mughal empire in 1526. Both Babur and his son and successor Humayun mentioned the origin of this diamond in their memoirs. Shah Jahan, the 5th Mughal emperor, had the stone placed into his ornate Peacock Throne.

Following the 1739 invasion of Delhi by Nadir Shah, the treasury of the Mughal empire was looted by his army and along with a host of valuables items including the Daria-i-Noori, a valuable diamond, as well as the Peacock Throne, the Shah also took with him the Kohinoor. In Persian Koh-i-Noor means “mountain of light”.

After the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747 and the collapse of his empire, the diamond fell into the hands of one of his generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani, who later became the Emir of Afghanistan. One of Ahmad’s descendants, Shuja Shah Durrani, wore a bracelet containing the Koh-i-Noor.

A year later, Shuja formed an alliance with Britain to help defend against a possible invasion of Afghanistan by Russia. He was quickly overthrown by his predecessor, Mahmud Shah, but managed to flee with the diamond. He went to Lahore, where the founder of the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in return of his hospitality, insisted that the gem be given to him and he took possession of the Kohinoor in 1813.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh willed the diamond to the Hindu temple of Jagannath in Puri. However, after his death in 1839, the East India Company did not execute his will. On March 29, 1849 following the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the Kingdom of Punjab was formally annexed to British India, and the last treaty of Lahore was signed, officially ceding the Kohinoor to Queen Victoria.

The Governor-General in charge of the ratification of this treaty was Lord Dalhousie. The manner of aiding the transfer of diamond was criticized even by some of his contemporaries in Britain. Some thought it should have been presented as a gift to Queen Victoria by the East India Company. It is clear Dalhousie strongly believed the stone was a spoil of war, and treated it accordingly, ensuring that it was a present to her by Maharaja Duleep Singh, the youngest son of Ranjit Singh.

Duleep Singh, aged 13, travelled to the UK to present the jewel. The presentation of Kohinoor to the Queen was the latest in a long history of transfers of the stones as coveted spoils of war. Duleep Singh was placed in the guardianship of Dr. Hohn Login, a surgeon of the British army serving in the presidency of Bengal. Dr, Login and his wife Leena both accompanied Duleep Singh on his journey to England and for the handover ceremony.

After Queen Victoria’s death, the Kohinoor was set in the crown of the Queen of Alexandra, the wife of Edward-VII, that was used to crown her at their coronation in 1902. The diamond was transferred to Queen Mary’s Crown in 1911, and finally to the Queen Mother’s crown in 1937. When the Queen mother died in 2002, it was placed on top of her coffin.

Kohinoor, it is believed, is jinxed. “Men, who wear this diamond will own the world, but misfortune will all the time hover over their heads. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity”, says the legend. If the head of a state is a man, his wife would have to carry the diamond.

The government of India, believing the gem was rightfully theirs, first demanded return of the Kohinoor soon after independence was achieved in 1947. A second request followed in 1953, the year of coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Each time, the British government refuted the claim, saying that ownership of the diamond was non-negotiable.

In the year 2000, several members of Indian Parliament signed a letter calling for the diamond to be given back to India, claiming it was taken illegally. British officials said that a variety of claims meant it was impossible to establish the gem’s original ownership

In July 2010, while visiting India, David Cameron, Prime Minister of UK, said of returning the diamond; “if you say ‘yes’ to one, you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty. I am afraid to say, it is going to have to stay put”. (IPA Service)