Dear Editor,
The issue of the Kohinoor diamond and its ownership seems to have struck a chord where some one has said “it would be graceless act to demand its return after so much time has passed”. I disagree. It would have been a more graceful act on the part of the United Kingdom to return it to the rightful “owner” as any property that has been stolen does belong to its rightful owner. His additional point that “Indians have received a more valuable gift from the British in the form of the English language and introduced us to many benefits” is again debatable. The British imposed the English language on us only to meet the needs of what I call secretarial assistance and to further their commercial and economic interests. It was no gift or even a benevolent move to help enrich us.
Somasekhara Rao,
Via-e-mail
