Day After Saying Kohinoor Belongs To Britain, Government's U-Turn

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday made a U-turn on the Kohinoor diamond issue saying it will make all efforts to bring back the precious gem, just a day after it said in the Supreme Court that India should not try to reclaim the diamond as it was "neither stolen nor forcibly taken".

In a statement, the government claimed it has not yet conveyed its views to the court "contrary to what is being misrepresented" in the media.

The government statement came a day after the Solicitor General told the Supreme Court, "Kohinoor cannot be said to have been forcibly taken or stolen as it was given by the successors of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to East India Company in 1849 as compensation for helping them in the Sikh wars."

The top court has been petitioned by an organisation named the All India Human Rights and Social Justice Front which wants the Kohinoor and other famous antiques including the ring and sword of Tipu Sultan to be returned to India by the United Kingdom.

The official statement also said that the government reiterates its resolve to make all possible efforts to bring back the Kohinoor Diamond in an amicable manner.

The release said the factual position is that the matter is sub-judice at present and the PIL is yet to be admitted.

"The Solicitor General of India was asked to seek the views of the government of India, which have not yet been conveyed. The Solicitor General of India informed the honourable court about the history of the diamond and gave an oral statement on the basis of the existing references made available by the ASI. Thus, it should be reaffirmed that the government of India has not yet conveyed its views to the court, contrary to what is being misrepresented," it said.

"... With regard to the Kohinoor Diamond too, government of India remains hopeful for an amicable outcome whereby India gets back a valued piece of art with strong roots in our nation's history," it added.

The Kohinoor, which means "Mountain of Light", was acquired from an Afghan king by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the 19th century ruler of Punjab. He willed it to a temple in Odisha, but Dilip Singh, his successor, a minor, handed it over in 1849 to the East India company, the government said.

The diamond was set in a crown for Queen Victoria and is on display in the Tower of London.

For years, politicians and others, in India and in the UK, have said the whopper of a diamond was seized after Punjab was annexed to British India and must be returned.