Kohinoor Diamond Belongs To Lord Jagannath, Claims Odisha Body; Seeks Its Return

A sociocultural organisation in Odisha asserted that the Kohinoor diamond belonged to Lord Jagannath and asked President Droupadi Murmu to help bring it back from the United Kingdom to the revered Puri temple.

The 105-carat diamond will go to Prince Charles’ wife, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, who is the Queen consort, in accordance with tradition following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Charles has since succeeded his mother as King.

The President was petitioned by the Puri-based Shree Jagannath Sena to help in the process of returning the Kohinoor diamond to the shrine from the 12th century.

“Sri Jagannath Bhagban is the owner of the Kohinoor diamond. The English Queen is now holding it. Please ask our Prime Minister to take the necessary procedures to bring it to India since Maharaja Ranjit Singh left it in his will to be given to God Jagannath “In the memo, Sena convener Priya Darsan Pattnaik made a statement.

According to Priya Darsan Pattnaik, Maharaja of Punjab Ranjit Singh gave the diamond to the Puri Lord after defeating Afghan general Nadir Shah in combat.

But it wasn’t given over right away. Anil Dhir, a historian and researcher, told PTI that after Ranjit Singh passed away in 1839, the British took the Kohinoor away from his son Duleep Singh despite knowing that it had been left to Lord Jagannath at Puri.

Priya Darsan Pattnaik claimed that after he wrote the Queen about this, Buckingham Palace contacted him on October 19, 2016, requesting that he make his appeal to the British government directly because “Her Majesty acts on the advice of her ministers and remains strictly non-political at all times.”

He claimed that the memo to the president includes a copy of the letter attached.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright