UK to share Kohinoor with India? Indian-origin British minister Lisa Nandy signals possibility

After 176 years, there is renewed hope that India may reclaim the prestigious and rare Kohinoor diamond—a priceless jewel taken during the British colonial era.

As per reports, Lisa Nandy, Britain’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said that the United Kingdom is in talks with India to ensure shared access and benefit from historical artefacts like the Kohinoor diamond.

Nandy reportedly said that the UK and India can collaborate much more closely together to make sure that people both in the UK and in India can benefit from and have access to many of the cultural artefacts that stem back to a very different era. 

She said that the UK and India both excel across the creative industries, including film, fashion, TV, music, and gaming. She noted that they were very good at these areas and exported many of those products to the world. However, she believed that through cooperation, they could do more and achieve more together. 

Nandy mentioned that the UK’s Science Museums Group had been working with the National Museum Science Museums Group in India to establish collaborations and exhibitions, tour different objects, and ensure that people in both countries could benefit from these efforts. She felt that this served as a model for how the two countries could cooperate more closely across other creative industries as well.

The British minister also met Foreign Minister S Jaishankar during her India visit on Thursday. “We were very pleased to have a bilateral meeting to discuss how we can cooperate much more closely,” she wrote on X.

Speaking at Waves Summit 2025, Nandy condoled the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and said the United Kingdom stands with the people of India against terrorism.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the UK Government, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22. 

“The relationship between India and the UK is strong and deep, and it is personal for me. My father grew up in Kolkata, where my Indian family still lives, and I’m deeply proud to be the first ever Labour cabinet minister of Indian heritage in the United Kingdom,” said Nandy during her speech.