“If I were to speak to the king separately on that matter, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
New York City Council Member Zohran Mamdani said on Wednesday that he encourages Britain’s King Charles to return the Kohinoor diamond; his remarks came during the British monarch’s current visit to the U.S.
Speaking at a press conference just hours before a ceremony commemorating the victims of the deadly attacks of September 11, 2001—and in response to a question on the matter—Indian-American Mamdani stated, “If I were to speak to the King on a different subject, I would perhaps ask him to return the Kohinoor diamond.”
Later, the King spoke with Mamdani at the ceremony. Buckingham Palace declined to comment. Mamdani’s office did not respond to a request for comment regarding whether Mamdani had raised this issue with the King.
India has previously demanded the return of the 105-carat diamond from Britain on multiple occasions.
Britain’s then-Colonial Governor-General of India arranged for the presentation of this massive diamond to Queen Victoria in 1850, after the East India Company annexed the Punjab region in 1849 and seized the diamond from a deposed Indian leader.
On Wednesday, while commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City, King Charles laid a wreath at the memorial site where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood.
India gained independence from British rule in 1947. The British occupation of India and the widespread atrocities committed against Indians during that era remain sensitive issues within the country.
India has previously stated that the diamond is “a precious artifact deeply rooted in our nation’s history.” Many Indians view the diamond as a symbol of the atrocities committed during the British Raj.
According to the charity Historic Royal Palaces, the diamond was previously held by India’s Mughal Emperors, the Shahs of Iran, the Emirs of Afghanistan, and the Sikh Maharajas.
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