Zoharn Mandani says he would advise King Charles to return ‘Koh-i-Noor’ to India

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that he would encourage Britain’s King Charles III to return the historic Koh-i-Noor diamond to India, when he will meet the King at a memorial event.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of a ceremony commemorating victims of 9/11 attacks in the US on Wednesday, Mamdani reportedly said that “I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond.” Mamdani also said that he will raise this issue if he gets separate time from talking on the official agenda of the meeting, by saying, “If I were to speak to the king separately from that.” 

Mamdani said this just hours before his meeting with King Charles who was in the US for a four day visit. Before meeting the king, Mamdani with his wife Rama Duwaji paid their respects at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum commemorating victims of the 2001 terror attacks. Later in the day, he interacted with King Charles at the 9/11 memorial event. 

Koh-i-Noor,  meaning ‘mountain of light’, was mined from Andhra Pradesh’s Kollur Mine in the 13-14th century. The diamond was passed through various Indian dynasties including the Mughal and Sikh empire.

Following the second Anglo-Sikh war, the British East India Company forced 10-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh to sign the Treaty of Lahore in 1849. Due to the treaty, the diamond was seeded to the crown of Queen Elizabeth. Currently it is displayed in the Tower of London.

The remarks come amid long-standing demands from India for the return of the diamond taken during the colonial era.