Ownership dispute
Koh-i-Noor has long been the subject of diplomatic disputes, with India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan all demanding its return from Britain.
India
The Government of India, rightly believing in Jauhar, demanded the return of Koh-i-Noor as soon as it gained independence in 1947. Another petition began in 1953, after the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Each time, the British government rejected the claims, saying the property was non-negotiable.
In 2000, several members of the Indian Parliament signed a letter demanding that the diamond be returned to India, claiming that it had been taken illegally. British officials said multiple claims meant it was impossible to establish the real owner of the diamond, and that it had been part of Britain's heritage for more than 150 years.
During a visit to India in July 2010, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, said of the return of the diamond, "If you say yes to someone, you suddenly find the British Museum empty. I am afraid to say so. "It has to be kept," he said on a subsequent visit in February 2013.
In April 2016, the Indian Ministry of Culture said it would make "every effort" to arrange for Koh-i-Noor's return to India. Nevertheless, the Indian government has previously acknowledged that the diamond was a gift. The announcement was made by the Solicitor General of India before the Supreme Court of India due to the public interest litigation through the election campaign. "It was voluntarily given to the British by the last Sikh ruler in return for help in the Sikh wars. Koh-i-Noor is not a stolen item," he said.
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