‘We’ll hang on to Koh-i-noor’ says UK PM

The Koh-I-noor diamond once owned by a Sikh maharajah was at the centre of an embarrassing episode for new UK prime minister David Cameron on a goodwill visit to India this week.

The 105-carat gem has long been the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels collection in the Tower of London – but Mr Cameron was unexpectedly confronted by a challenge for its return to the sub-continent.

The challenge came during an interview on India’s NDTV channel, when Mr Cameron first hesitated then replied that it could not be returned.

The Koh-i-noor was acquired by the East India Company after the capture of  the Punjab in 1849, shipped to Britain, and gifted to Queen Victoria.

Its previous owner was the Sikh Maharajah of Lahore but before that it had been in the possession of Mughal emperors. Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported that it was discovered in India at least 700 years ago but possibly thousands of years before that, according to some Hindu scholars.

India MPs have demanded its return on a number of occasions.

Mr Cameron said returning the legendary diamond would set a dangerous precedent for other artefacts held in British museums. ( Notably, Greece has demanded the return of the Elgin Marbles, looted from the Parthenon some 200 years ago and taken to London by the Earl of Elgin).

The TV response was the second major surprise of the week  from Britain’s new premier, who headed a large delegation of politicians and business people to India in a move aimed at strengthening UK-India links.

Mr Cameron made headlines in the UK, India and neighbouring Pakistan when he spoke out against Pakistan allowing Islamic fundamentalists to export terror from Pakistan.