UK refuses to return Indian diamond | News.com.auUK refuses to return Indian diamond
From correspondents in New Delhi From: AFP July 30, 2010 5:22AM
THE real jewel in Britain's actual crown will not be returning to India, Prime Minister David Cameron said today, as he ruled out any repatriation of the famed Kohinoor diamond.
The 105 carat gemstone set in the coronation crown of the British royals was mined in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
It was seized by the East India Company and became part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877.
India has made regular requests for its return, but in an interview during his two-day visit to India, Cameron made clear that the diamond was going nowhere.
"What tends to happen with these questions is that if you say yes to one, then you would suddenly find the British Museum empty," he told the local NDTV news channel.
"I know there is a great argument about the original provenance of the Kohinoor diamond, but I am afraid to say it's going to stay put," he said.
I totally support India to take back what British had stolen from it in the past. The reason UK's PM had given is totally outrageous, and he also admitted that everything in the British Museum were looted from others.