Zohran Mamdani’s suggestion King Charles should return diamond to India has reopened old wounds
It may not be the biggest or most precious jewel ensconced in the Tower of London, but few diamonds have a legacy to rival that of the Koh-i-noor.
Likely to have originated in southern India, the diamond’s history is that of a great disruptor across the subcontinent, exchanging hands over centuries through acts of war, violence and assassination from Mughal emperors, Persian invaders, Sikh Kings and eventually snatched by the British colonial rulers of India.
Yet even as the UK has resisted decades of calls to return the gem, last week the disruptive power of the Koh-i-noor reared its head again.
As King Charles III was due to visit New York, the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was asked at a press conference what he would choose to discuss with the British monarch.
