UK stirs row over Kohinoor ownership

Nayar8217;s letter, written on May 19 to Vajpayee says, 8220;Newspaper reports seem to have rattled London because its mission in Delhi has taken the line that the Kohinoor does not belong to India, but came to it from Afghanistan/Pakistan.8221;

Quoting the letter, Nayar says, 8220;I do not see what is the confusion about the ownership of the diamond. If the antecedents of the jewel have to be traced down, then they should go back to the mines of Golconda. It is an irrefutable fact that the diamond belongs to India.8221;

8220;External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh has assured me earlier that he would take up the matter with the British Government through the Indian High Commissioner. But I have not heard anything on that yet. I have been assured by the Prime Minister that he would immediately look into the matter,8221; he says.

Nayar, however, feels a certain disinterest on the part of the Indian Government about moving the British on the return of Kohinoor. 8220;We do not seem to be even trying for getting a campaign launched for the return of what belongs to us and is a matter of national pride,8221; he says.

In his candid letter to Vajpayee, Nayar says, 8220;I am a bit disappointed over the Government8217;s nonchalant attitude towards the return of Kohinoor from the United Kingdom,8221; he writes and adds, 8220;The Government also showed no interest in the motion which was admitted on the subject in the Rajya Sabha.8221;

8220;Whatever stand your Government may take, I, for one, am for building up a campaign for the return of not only the Kohinoor but also other cultural relics and the manuscripts, the reports and books of India Office Library in England,8221; he writes.

In the last session of the Parliament, Nayar had moved a motion with the support of 25 MPs, including Manmohan Singh, Rajesh Pilot and Venkaih Naidu, seeking the return of Kohinoor. While the motion was admitted by the chairman of the House, it could not be discussed due to lack of time.

According to the Department of Culture, the diamond has a long history beginning in the South of India, going to Raja of Malwa, then to the Mughals, then to Nadir Shah, then to the Maharaja of Lahore Ranjit Singh and later his son Duleep Singh who at the age of 11 years handed over the diamond to the East India Company as part of the treaty of annexation of Punjab. Since then, the diamond has been in the possession of the British.