How the Koh-i-Noor came back to Punjab — before Britain snatched it .
The world’s most renowned diamond passed from hand to hand with every dynasty that rose and collapsed, from the Kakatiyas to Maharaja Ranjit Singh and eventually the British Crown
Today the Koh-i-Noor is connected with the British Crown. But long before it reached London the famed diamond had already completed an astonishing journey over the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia, passing through conquest, diplomacy and political intrigue before landing at the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore.
Koh-i-Noor (Persian name, although thought to have come from India). Historians say it came from the Kollur diamond mines in present-day Andhra Pradesh. Local lore has it that the uncut gem belonged to the Kakatiya monarchs of Warangal and may have been set as the eye of the goddess at the Bhadrakali Temple. It is considered to have come into the possession of the Delhi Sultanate after the conquest of Warangal by Alauddin Khilji’s commander, Malik Kafur, in the early 14th century.
Later the jewel passed into the Mughal treasury. It was used to ornament the majestic Peacock Throne, commissioned in 1628 and studded with some of the finest gems in the empire, during the reign of Shah Jahan.
Its fortunes were transformed abruptly in 1739 when the Persian monarch Nadir Shah defeated the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah at the Battle of Karnal. After the plunder of Delhi, Nadir Shah took away enormous treasure including the Peacock Throne and the famous diamond, which is considered by many to have gained the name “Koh-i-Noor” at this time.
After the killing of Nadir Shah in 1747, the diamond came into the possession of Ahmad Shah Abdali, founder of the Durrani Empire. It passed from hand to hand of successive Afghan monarchs as civil wars and succession struggles tore Afghanistan apart.
The assignment was given to his faithful general, Diwan Mokham Chand by Ranjit Singh. Sikh soldiers had got into Kashmir ahead of the hostile Afghan army, released Shah Shuja and transported him safely to Lahore..
But the promised diamond was not handed over promptly.
Shah Shuja and Wafa Begum continued to defer their commitment, and finally declared that the jewel had been pawned with a moneylender in Candahar. Ranjit Singh lost soldiers and spent a lot on the Kashmir fight and finally put limits on their stay in Lahore unless the pledge was followed.
In comes the Koh-i-Noor, via Shah Shuja’s wife, Wafa Begum. Historically, we know that she pledged the diamond beyond price to Ranjit Singh, on condition that he would release her husband who had been imprisoned in Kashmir by Ata Muhammad Khan. In 1798 the youthful chief of the Sukerchakia misl succeeded his father, Maha Singh. About the same period the Afghan monarch Zaman Shah made many a vain attempt to conquer India. Sikh histories name Ranjit Singh as among the key protagonists opposing these developments near Lahore.
Political instability quickly engulfed Afghanistan. Zaman Shah was removed and blinded, and his brother, Shah Shuja Durrani, was on the throne for a short time, until he too was toppled. Afghan royal family members become fugitives from the rulers and found sanctuary in Punjab.
Ranjit Singh had at this time become himself Maharaja of the Punjab. Shah Shuja and his family sought asylum in Lahore.
The Koh-i-Noor made its way into this narrative through the wife of Shah Shuja, Wafa Begum. According to the chronicles she had pledged the costly diamond to Ranjit Singh if he would rescue her husband imprisoned in Kashmir by Ata Muhammad Khan.
Ranjit Singh assigned the task to his faithful general Diwan Mokham Chand. The Sikh soldiers had arrived in Kashmir before the competing Afghan army, gained the freedom of Shah Shuja and delivered him safely to Lahore.
Finally, on 1 June 1813, the Koh-i-Noor was given by Shah Shuja to the Maharaja at Mubarak Haveli in Lahore.
According to contemporary sources the diamond was transported wrapped in fabric. It was examined by Ranjit Singh himself before his finance minister, Diwan Bhiwani Das, who had served in the Afghan court and was familiar with the diamond, was asked to authenticate it. The Maharaja, having assured himself that it was really the Koh-i-Noor, gently took the diamond away.
For the next 36 years, the Koh-i-Noor stayed in the Lahore treasury, and became one of the primary emblems of the Sikh Empire.
The chapter concluded with the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on June 27, 1839. Internal squabbles and political instability damaged the Sikh Empire. Punjab was seized by the British after the Second Anglo-Sikh War on 29 March 1849.
The annexation clauses compelled the 10-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh to relinquish the Koh-i-Noor to the British East India Company. In particular, the proclamation read: “The Maharaja of Lahore shall deliver up to the Queen of England the gem called the Koh-i-Noor, taken from Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.”
The diamond was sent to Britain the next year, and was later recut before being included into the British Crown Jewels where it remains to this day.
The Koh-i-Noor continues to inspire opposing historical claims and recollections for India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. There is however one chapter which is without doubt. For more than 30 years the world’s most famous diamond was kept in Lahore as one of the prized belongings of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Empire.
