The preparations for the coronation of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are in full swing in the United Kingdom. According to the Buckingham Palace, the Kohinoor diamond will not be used for coronation. Instead, Queen Mary's Crown, which has been removed from the Tower of London and is being resized for the ceremony, will be used to crown the Queen Consort. But a video showing a debate on whether the Kohinoor should be returned to India is gaining traction on social media ahead of the ceremony.
The debate was aired on Good Morning Britain in which Emma Webb, writer and broadcaster at the channel, can be seen arguing about crown jewels. She stated that the UK should not be returning the jewels to their geographical origins as "ownership can be disputed".
Ms Webb asks Indian-origin journalist Narinder Kaur, "The ruler was also the ruler of Lahore so is Pakistan going to get a claim on it? They stole it from the Persian empire. The Persian empire invaded the Mughal empire so this is a contested object."
Also Read: Besides Kohinoor, These 4 Items Were Also Taken Away By The British
At this point in the video, an infuriated Ms Kaur replies, "You do not know history. It represents colonisation and bloodshed." Later, she said that the country should return the diamond back to India. "Give it back to India. I don't see why an Indian child from India has to travel all the way to the UK to look at it and pay for it."
Ms Kaur retweeted the now-viral video and stated, "The Kohinoor diamond was founded in Indian soil. It represents to the British their dark brutal colonial history. They have NO BUSINESS in continuing to benefit from colonisation. The UN recognises the right of a country to reclaim its treasures."
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, the Ministry of External Affairs stated that the government will find ways to bring the Kohinoor diamond back to the Indian soil. "My understanding is that the government of India responded to it in Parliament a few years ago. We have said that we have been raising this matter from time to time with the UK government and we will continue to explore ways and means for obtaining a satisfactory resolution of the matter," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said in a press conference.
