It appears that the Indian government conceded Monday that the historic Koh-i-Noor diamond adorning a British royal crown wasn't stolen as was once alleged, but was given to the nation as a gift.
The development comes after India's solicitor general, Ranjit Kumar, told the country's supreme court during a public interest filing seeking the gem's return that the jewel was neither stolen or forcibly taken away, as many in India have argued in the past.
Currently, the Koh-i-Noor, or "mountain of light," is part of the purple-velvet Queen Mother's Crown in the Tower of London. But to understand the controversy behind the entire affair, we need to go over a little bit of its alleged history.
The gem's origins is believed to date back to the 1300s when it was mined in what is now the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It passed through the hands of various sultans, warlords and Mughal emperors before winding up in the hands of a Sikh warrior of Punjab by the name of Maharajah Ranjit Singh.
Historians say Singh meant to have the diamond go to a Hindu temple upon his death, but instead the British secured it in the Treaty of Lahore and his heir presented it to Queen Victoria in 1850.
However, this is where the controversy begins. Britain believes the diamond is rightfully theirs, while many in India believe Britain obtained it through duplicitous means, reportedly going as far as to hiss at the Mother's Crown where the diamond resides whenever they pass by during trips to London.
At the very least, Kumar said the diamond was given to Britain fair and square and, thus, India has no right to lay claim over it.
"It was given voluntarily by Ranjit Singh to the British as compensation for help in the Sikh Wars. The Koh-i-Noor is not a stolen object," he said before the court Monday.
On the other hand, Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, said in the past that it should be returned as "atonement for the colonial past." He reiterated that point when he spoke during an interview Monday.
"It's a moral issue," he said. "This was our heritage, which was stolen, which was taken away forcefully. Every country, every culture has aspirations to regain what they have lost in history. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't have these kinds of emotions."
The diamond doesn't just have historical value to India, but a bit of mystique behind it as well. Legend says that the diamond is quite sexist, with only a woman or a god being permitted to wear it. If a man dares to wear it, he will be cursed due to its "long and bloody history."
Interestingly, India isn't the only country that wants the diamond for themselves. Groups and politicians from Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have also tried to lay claim to the diamond in recent years. However, successive British prime ministers have refused to return it. David Cameron is the most recent to do so, saying it would set an "unworkable precedent" that would leave the British Museum empty.
"If you say yes to one, you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty," he told Indian media during a trip to the country in 2010.
The Koh-i-Noor diamond was last worn by the late Queen Mother and was displayed on top of her crown when her coffin lay in state after her death in 2002.
