Koh-I-Nur

From SikhiWiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

From the Punjab to London

The Koh-i-nur, the peerless diamond which today takes its pride of place among the British crown jewels, once belonged to Maharaja Ranjit Singh who would wear it on his left arm on State occasions. After his death it passed through his sons Kharak Singh and Sher Singh, to his youngest son, the 5 year old Daleep Singh, who ascended the throne in September, 1843. He was forced to surrender the diamond to the British at the end of the 2nd Anglo-Sikh war during a Darbar on March 29th, 1849. At his 10th birthday party that year he sadly recalled his last birthday when he had worn the Koh-i-nur among his other gems. It was a lost that he never got over. The young Maharaja, considered, by the British too dangerous to be allowed to stay the Punjab was deprived of his kingdom, the world famous diamond and the jewels, gold, silver and pashmina shawls of the famous Toshakhana (treasury). The British considered all of it an indemnity (to pay for costs of the 2 wars); the young Duleep questioned the legality of the whole transaction. From the time of its surrender until it left Lahore, the Koh-i-nur was in the custody of Dr John Spencer Login, guardian of Maharaja Duleep Singh and the superintendent of the fabulus Toshakhana. In 1850, Lord Dalhousie personally took the diamond from Lahore to Bombay for dispatch to England. Maharaja Duleep Singh left India in 1853. Cheated out of his agreed upon pension, he was allowed only 2 brief visits back to India.

On Exhibit

The stone was exhibited in London's Crystal Palace exhibition in 1851. It was literally the star of the exhibit. In 1852 thinking the stone lacked brillance (it then weighed 186.1/6 carats) Prince Albert had the stone recut at great cost. A Dutch cutter from Amsterdam was brought to London along with a steam powered cutting table. The cutting failed to greatly enhance the brilliance of the diamond, and reduced its weight by 80 carats. Today it weighs only 106.1/16 carats still the most brilliant gem among the British crown jewels, if no longer the largest. While having a portrait painted of the young Maharaja at Buckingham Palace the Queen handed him the recut diamond. Dulip Singh studied the diamond for a few moments, returning the diamond to the Queen he expressed gracefully that it gave him pleasure to have the opportunity of placing the stone in her hands. This event made news in London with many Londoners expressing the view that the Maharaja had been cheated out of the diamond. When the news story got back to Dalhousie that the Maharaja had turned the Koh-i-nur over to the Queen he flew into a rage. (http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/koh-i-noordiamond.html) Later, it was set in the crown of the Queen Mother in 1937 at the time of the coronation of George VI.

At the death of the Queen mother the crown was placed atop her coffin during her state funeral.

A new name for Babur's? diamond

During the course of its long history, the Koh-i-nur has witnessed the rise and fall of many ruling dynasties. Thought to be the famous diamond of Babur the stone had been the pride of the great Moghul emperors from Babar to Auranzeb. It was lost to India when Nadir Shah invaded Delhi in 1739. Taking much treasure (including the fabled Peacock Throne) Nadir Shah could not find the gem. It is related that a nautch girl, seeking favor, told the Shah that the emperor had concealed the diamond in his turban. Nadir Shah, then (in a time honored tradition of friendship and reconciliation, called Pag Vatauni in the Panjab) offered to exchange turbans with Muhammad Shah who could not refuse. Later Nadir Shah unwrapped the turban. Taken by surprise as the stone rolled out he shouted Koh-i-Nur! , (Mountain of Light). The stone has since been known by this name.

A 2nd visit to Persia, back to Afganistan and the Punjab

Nadir Shah was murdered in 1747 and the Koh-i-Nur came into the possession of his grandson, Shah Rukh, who surrendered it to Ahmad Shah Durrani of Kabul. It passed by descent to Ahmad Shah's son, Taimur, and then to his grandson Shah Zaman. Deposed and blinded by his brother Mahmud, Shah Zaman secreted the KohiNur with him while in prison. Another brother Shah Shuja, in 1795, dethroned and imprisoned Mahmud, and acquired the KohiNur which he found secreted in a wall of the cell in which Shah Zaman had been imprisoned. During the struggle that followed, Shah Shuja', became a prisoner in Kashmir (1812), but his wife, Wafa Begam, escaped to Lahore with other members of the family and with much of the treasure, including the Koh-i-nur. She was given asylum by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Fateh Khan, the Kabul Wazir, sought an alliance with Maharaja Ranjit Singh for a joint invasion of Kashmir and offered to share with him the booty. When Wafa Begam learnt about Fateh Khan's designs, she became apprehensive for her husband's safety. Through his courtiers, Faqir Aziz-ud-Din and Diwan Mohkam Chand, she supplicated the Maharaja for help and offered to present him with the KohiNur if he would rescue her husband from captivity. Ranjit Singh, who was already preparing to invade Kashmir, asked his commander, Diwan Mohkam Chand, to secure the release of Shah Shuja', and bring him safely to Lahore. The release of Shah Shuja' became the primary object of the Sikh expedition. The Sikhs and the Afghans marched towards Kashmir in December 1812. The Afghans were better used to the hills and soon marched ahead of the Lahore army. But the Sikhs reached the valley before Fateh Khan by using a shorter, though more hazardous, route. Shah Shuja', who lay in chains in a dungeon, was rescued and escorted to Lahore. Unwilling to part with such a precious treasure as the Koh-i-nur, Shah Shuja', was in the end persuaded to make good his wife's promise. He invited Maharaja Ranjit Singh to his house on June 1, 1813 and placed on his palm the fabulous Koh-i-nur.

Ancient history

The history of the diamond before it came into the hands of Nadir Shah is shrouded in obscurity. According to one version, the stone was discovered about five millennia earlier in the bed of the River Godavari, near Machhiipatnam, in South Golconda, now in Andhra Pradesh. Some trace its origin to the hills of Amravati, in Maharashtra. It is said that it was worn by Raja Kama, the legendary son of Surya and one of the heroes of the Mahabharata war, who had the diamond tied around his arm as a talisman. After Kama's tragic end on the battlefield, the diamond passed into the hands of the Pandavas. It is also surmised that the diamond once belonged to Raja Vikramaditya, the ruler of the great Hindu kingdom of Ujjain in Central India, which flourished about 57 BC and and drove the Scythians out of the country. The first authentic reference to the Koh-i-nur is considered to be the one in Babar's memoirs, the Tuzuk. According to the Tuzuk, King 'Ala-ud-Din (12961316) of the Khalji dynasty once owned the stone. The Khalji king, according to some accounts, had acquired it from the Raja of Malva in 1304, while according to others the diamond once adorned the third eye of an image of Siva in a temple somehwere in Telarigana, where it was gouged out by 'Ala-ud-Din Khalji during his sack of the Deccan in 131112. It later passed into the hands of the Hindu ruler of Gwalior and was presented to Humayun, son of Babar, by the family of Raja Bikramajit who was killed at Panipat in 1526. Whatever its earlier history, the diamond was in the treasury of Emperor Aurangzeb. During his reign the Italian jeweler, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, had the chance of seeing and examining it.

The Koh-i-nur is not known to have ever been bought or sold. It has always changed hands as a result of conquest. Its value can hardly be estimated. Babar had valued the gem at "two and a half days' expenses of the world". When Ranjit Singh asked the jewelers in Amritsar to evaluate the Koh-i-nur, they said that its price was beyond estimate.

Claims on the Koh-i-nur

India, Iran, Pakistan, even an heir of Lord Dalhousie's and the Taliban rulers of Afganistan have all made claims on the gem. Sadly all of Dalip Singh's children had no heirs. The daughter of Dalip Singh's collection of Sikh memorablia was purchased by the Government of Pakistan and is on display at the Lahore Fort.


References

1. Beveridge, Annctte Susannah, irans., Knbur-nnmn. Delhi, 1989
2. Suri, Sohan Lal, `Umdat ut-Twarikh. Lahore, 1885-89
3. Waheeduddin, Faqir Syed, The Real Ranjit Singh. Delhi, 1976
4. Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, vol. I. Princeton, 1966
5. Bhagat Singh, Maharaja Hanjit Singh and His Times.Delhi, 1990
6. Hai-bans Singh, The Heritage of the Sikhs. Delhi, 1983 S.S.B.
7. Gobind Singh Mansukhani, 'Stories of Sikh History, book VIII', Delhi, 1988