Will UK return Kohinoor diamond to India? British minister says, ‘We have been talking…’

The United Kingdom is having discussions with India to explore shared access to cultural artefacts, according to Lisa Nandy, the country’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport. Nandy responded to a question about India’s request for the return of the Kohinoor diamond.

The 108-carat Kohinoor presented to Queen Victoria in 1849 by Maharajah Duleep Singh, was later worn by the Queen Mother on her crown in 1937. 

“We have been talking between the UK and India for quite some time about the way that we think we 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 the very different era. This is something that I’ve discussed with my counterpart,” Nandy told ANI news agency.

During her visit to Delhi, Nandy also focused on strengthening partnership between the UK and India across creative, cultural, and sporting domains.

“In the arts and creative industries, Britain and India lead the world and I look forward to this agreement opening up fresh opportunities for collaboration, innovation and economic growth for our artists, cultural institutions and creative businesses,” Nandy was quoted as saying in a press release by the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The UK-India Programme of Cultural Cooperation is aimed at enhancing two-way cultural exchanges through the arts and heritage and encouraging long-term partnerships between creative businesses and cultural institutions in both countries.

It will include the UK working with India to support best practices and expertise on heritage conservation, museum management and digitisation of collections.

Implementation of the new pact will involve the British Council in India and the Indian Ministry of Culture, with participation from major UK cultural institutions including Arts Council England, the British Library, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum Group and the V&A Museum.

(With Inputs From Agencies)

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