'Will Continue To Explore Ways For Satisfactory Resolution Of Matter': MEA On Bringing Back Kohinoor From UK

It is to be noted that the 108-carat Kohinoor gem was given to Queen Victoria in the year 1849 by Maharajah Duleep Singh. It was worn by the Queen Mother on her crown in 1937.

The oval-shaped diamond has been in possession of the House of Windsor

Source : Getty Images

New Delhi: India on Friday said that it will continue to explore ways to bring back the Kohinoor, one of the largest diamonds in the world, from the United Kingdom.

After the death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II last month, there have been demands in India to bring back the Kohinoor.

Asked about the demand, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi referred to the government's response on the issue in Parliament a few years back.

"My understanding is that the government of India responded to it in Parliament a few years ago. We have said that we have been raising this matter from time to time with the UK government and we will continue to explore ways and means for obtaining a satisfactory resolution of the matter," news agency PTI quoted Bagchi as saying.

It is to be noted that the 108-carat Kohinoor gem was given to Queen Victoria in the year 1849 by Maharajah Duleep Singh. It was worn by the Queen Mother on her crown in 1937.

The oval-shaped diamond has been in possession of the House of Windsor and is displayed on the Tower of London. The Kohinoor was brought out in public for the first time during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. 

There have been speculative reports in the British media about the possibility of Camilla wearing the Kohinoor diamond when she will be crowned Queen Consort at a ceremony on May 6 next year.

Notably, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a significant number of Twitter users in India demanded the return of the Kohinoor to India.

According to the Archaeological Survey of India, the Kohinoor was unearthed in the Golconda mines in South India, between the 12th-14th centuries.

As per reports, the campaign for diamond return was launched in the year 2013 when the then British prime minister David Cameron made a visit to India.