New York Mayor Mamdani encourages King Charles to return Koh-i-Noor Diamond

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Wednesday he encourages Britain’s King Charles to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, with his comments ​coming during the British monarch’s ongoing US visit.

“If I were to ‌speak to the king separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond,” Mamdani, who is Indian American, said when asked at a ​press conference hours before a ceremony that commemorated victims of ​the deadly September 11, 2001, attacks.

Later in the day, the ⁠king spoke with Mamdani at the ceremony. Buckingham Palace declined to ​comment. Mamdani’s office did not respond to a request to comment on ​whether Mamdani brought up the issue with the king.

India has previously repeatedly demanded that Britain return the 105-carat diamond.

Britain’s then colonial governor-general of India arranged for the huge diamond ​to be presented to Queen Victoria in 1850 after the East ​India Company had annexed the region of Punjab in 1849 and taken the diamond ‌from ⁠a deposed Indian leader.

Charles on Wednesday commemorated victims of the September 11, 2001, attack on New York City, laying a floral bouquet at the memorial where the World Trade Center’s twin towers once stood.

India received independence ​from British rule ​in 1947. The ⁠British colonization of India and widespread atrocities committed against Indians during that period remain sensitive issues in the country.

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India ​has previously said the diamond was a “valued piece of ​art ⁠with strong roots in our nation’s history.” The diamond’s possession by the British is seen by many Indians as a symbol of colonial atrocities during ⁠British ​rule.

The diamond has been previously owned by India’s ​Mughal emperors, shahs of Iran, emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh maharajas, according to the Historic ​Royal Palaces charity.