Odisha physique claims ‘Kohinoor’ belongs to Lord Jagannath, seeks its return from UK
5 min readBy PTI
BHUBANESWAR: A socio-cultural organisation of Odisha has claimed that the Kohinoor diamond belonged to Lord Jagannath, and sought the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu for its return to the historic Puri temple from the United Kingdom.
Following the dying of Queen Elizabeth II, her son Prince Charles has turn out to be the King and, as per norms, the 105-carat diamond will go to his spouse the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, who’s the Queen consort.
Shree Jagannath Sena, a Puri-based outfit, submitted a memorandum to the President, searching for her intervention to facilitate the method of bringing again the Kohinoor diamond to the Twelfth-century shrine.
“The Kohinoor diamond belongs to Sri Jagannath Bhagban. It is now with the Queen of England. Kindly request our Prime Minister to take steps to bring it to India. As Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated it to God Jagannath in his will,” Sena convener Priya Darsan Pattnaik stated within the memorandum.
Pattnaik claimed that Maharaja of Punjab Ranjit Singh had donated the diamond to the Puri Lord after he gained a battle towards Nadir Shah of Afghanistan.
However, it was not handed over instantly.
Ranjit Singh died in 1839 and, 10 years later, the British took the Kohinoor away from his son, Duleep Singh, although they had been conscious that it was bequeathed to Lord Jagannath at Puri, historian and researcher Anil Dhir instructed PTI.
Pattnaik asserted that after he despatched a letter to the Queen on this regard, he acquired a communication from Buckingham Palace on October 19, 2016, asking him to enchantment on to the United Kingdom authorities as “Her Majesty acts on the advice of her ministers and remains strictly non-political at all times”.
A replica of that letter has been connected to the memorandum to the President, he stated.
Asked why he was silent on the difficulty for six years, Pattnaik stated he was denied a Visa to go to England on account of which he couldn’t take up the matter additional with the UK authorities.
Sena’s declare is justified although there are a number of claimants like Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s heirs, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dhir stated.
“Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s will before his death stated that he donated the Kohinoor to Lord Jagannath. The document was certified by a British Army officer, the proof of which is available at the National Archives in Delhi,” stated the historian.
Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Bhupinder Singh had raised the difficulty of bringing the diamond again, within the Rajya Sabha in 2016.
The BJP MLA of Puri, Jayant Sarangi, additionally stated he would take up the matter within the Odisha Assembly.
The Kohinoor diamond was “surrendered” by the Maharaja of Lahore to the then Queen of England and “not handed over” to the British practically 170 years in the past, the Archaeological Survey of India replied to an RTI question a couple of years in the past.
Author and historian William Dalrymple famous in his e-book, “Kohinoor” that youngster Sikh inheritor Duleep Singh regretted having surrendered the jewel to Queen Victoria.
However, he additionally wished to offer it to the Queen as a person.
The Indian authorities’s stand within the Supreme Court was that the diamond, estimated to value over USD 200 million, was neither stolen nor “forcibly” taken by British rulers, however given to the East India Company by erstwhile rulers of Punjab.
Considered to be one of many world’s most valuable gems, the Kohinoor was reportedly present in India within the 14th century throughout coal mining within the Kollur mine in South India.
BHUBANESWAR: A socio-cultural organisation of Odisha has claimed that the Kohinoor diamond belonged to Lord Jagannath, and sought the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu for its return to the historic Puri temple from the United Kingdom.
Following the dying of Queen Elizabeth II, her son Prince Charles has turn out to be the King and, as per norms, the 105-carat diamond will go to his spouse the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, who’s the Queen consort.
Shree Jagannath Sena, a Puri-based outfit, submitted a memorandum to the President, searching for her intervention to facilitate the method of bringing again the Kohinoor diamond to the Twelfth-century shrine.
“The Kohinoor diamond belongs to Sri Jagannath Bhagban. It is now with the Queen of England. Kindly request our Prime Minister to take steps to bring it to India. As Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated it to God Jagannath in his will,” Sena convener Priya Darsan Pattnaik stated within the memorandum.
Pattnaik claimed that Maharaja of Punjab Ranjit Singh had donated the diamond to the Puri Lord after he gained a battle towards Nadir Shah of Afghanistan.
However, it was not handed over instantly.
Ranjit Singh died in 1839 and, 10 years later, the British took the Kohinoor away from his son, Duleep Singh, although they had been conscious that it was bequeathed to Lord Jagannath at Puri, historian and researcher Anil Dhir instructed PTI.
Pattnaik asserted that after he despatched a letter to the Queen on this regard, he acquired a communication from Buckingham Palace on October 19, 2016, asking him to enchantment on to the United Kingdom authorities as “Her Majesty acts on the advice of her ministers and remains strictly non-political at all times”.
A replica of that letter has been connected to the memorandum to the President, he stated.
Asked why he was silent on the difficulty for six years, Pattnaik stated he was denied a Visa to go to England on account of which he couldn’t take up the matter additional with the UK authorities.
Sena’s declare is justified although there are a number of claimants like Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s heirs, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dhir stated.
“Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s will before his death stated that he donated the Kohinoor to Lord Jagannath. The document was certified by a British Army officer, the proof of which is available at the National Archives in Delhi,” stated the historian.
Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Bhupinder Singh had raised the difficulty of bringing the diamond again, within the Rajya Sabha in 2016.
The BJP MLA of Puri, Jayant Sarangi, additionally stated he would take up the matter within the Odisha Assembly.
The Kohinoor diamond was “surrendered” by the Maharaja of Lahore to the then Queen of England and “not handed over” to the British practically 170 years in the past, the Archaeological Survey of India replied to an RTI question a couple of years in the past.
Author and historian William Dalrymple famous in his e-book, “Kohinoor” that youngster Sikh inheritor Duleep Singh regretted having surrendered the jewel to Queen Victoria.
However, he additionally wished to offer it to the Queen as a person.
The Indian authorities’s stand within the Supreme Court was that the diamond, estimated to value over USD 200 million, was neither stolen nor “forcibly” taken by British rulers, however given to the East India Company by erstwhile rulers of Punjab.
Considered to be one of many world’s most valuable gems, the Kohinoor was reportedly present in India within the 14th century throughout coal mining within the Kollur mine in South India.
