New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Wednesday that he would like to encourage British King Charles to return the infamous Kohinoor Diamond to India. Mamdani was set to meet the monarch at a ceremony that commemorated the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
“If I were to speak to the king separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Kohinoor Diamond,” said the Indian American at a press conference before the ceremony.
Mamdani and Charles later spoke at the event but the Mayor’s office declined to comment on whether the issue was brought up.
King Charles paid tribute to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attack on New York City on Wednesday, laying a floral bouquet at the memorial where the World Trade Center’s twin towers were located.
India had also raised multiple demands for the return of the 105-carat diamond.
Kohinoor was mined in the Kollur region of Andhra Pradesh, with a history spanning hundred of years. The diamond was presented to Queen Victoria in 1850 after the East India Company captured Punjab in 1849 and seized it from an overthrown Indian leader. Despite Indian independence in 1947, Britain continues to claim ownership of the diamond, currently being displayed in the Tower of London.
India had made statements that the diamond was a “valued piece of art with strong roots in our nation’s history”. Britain has a 200-year-old history of colonisation and widespread atrocities in India. The effects of the colonial regime can still be seen throughout the country and remain a sensitive issue for its people. According to many Indians, the continued possession of the diamond by the British is seen as a symbol of the colonial atrocities committed during the era.
According to the Historic Royal Palaces charity, the diamond was previously owned by India’s Mughal emperors, shahs of Iran, emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh maharajas.
