Dear Editor,
Since time immemorial, the matchless diamond, Koh-i-noor, has passed through many hands before it went to Britain. Raja Bikramajit of Gwalior died valiantly fighting on the side of the Delhi Sultan, Ibrahim Lodhi, against Babur in the battle of Panipat in 1526. His wives and children were seized by Humayun’s men from the fort of Agra. He rescued them from their captors. As a token of gratitude, they presented him with some jewels, including the Koh-i-noor. Nadir Shah took it away from the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah in May, 1739. With the passage of time, it came into the hands of Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk, the King of Kabul. After his deposition, he was seized by Ata Mahommad Khan, the Governor of Kashmir. He threatened him with death to extort the diamond. His wife, Vafa Begum, who was staying at Lahore promised to give the Koh-i-noor to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, if he rescued her husband. He deputed his general, Diwan Mohkam Chand, who brought the shah to Lahore. After some dilly-dallying, the shah presented the diamond to the Lahore monarch. Article 3 of the Treaty of 1849 (Annexation of Punjab) treated the Koh-i-noor as the private property of Maharaja Dalip Singh, who was then only 11 years old. Yet, the then Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, personally took it from Dr John Login, who was the tutor of Dalip Singh and also officer-in-Charge of the Lahore Toshakhana for being presented to Queen Victoria. After her first meeting with Dalip Singh on July 1, 1854, she mentioned in her journal: “He was beautifully dressed and covered with diamonds. The Koh-i-Noor belonged to and was once worn by him.” In a letter to Dr Login, Dalip Singh expressed his desire to discuss with him about his private property in Punjab and the Koh-i-noor diamond. But Col. Phipps observed in his letter of August 4, 1861: “The legal opinion may be a perfectly correct one, but these matters must be settled by the rules of commonsense.” The Times editorial (August 31, 1882) said, “For a long time, he preferred a claim for the Koh-i-noor, of which he alleged that he had been wrongly despoiled.”
Bhagwan Singh
Via-e-mail
