Sathnam Sanghera

‘Inevitable’ India’s jewels taken by British empire will be returned, says author

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Narendra Modi is preparing a campaign to reclaim items in UK museums and held by the royal family, such as the Koh-i-noor

The queen mother’s coffin and coronation crown, which includes the Koh-i-noor diamond. Photograph: Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images

A leading writer on the British empire has said it is inevitable that Indian jewels and historical artefacts looted under colonial rule will be returned, amid reports that the country will begin a campaign to get them repatriated.

Sathnam Sanghera, who authored Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain and fronted documentaries on the subject for Channel 4, said the latest demands are part of a series by former colonies reassessing their own time under empire.

Countries such as India are already changing historical legacies from colonial rule, which ended in 1947, and a royal tour by the Prince and Princess of Wales to the Caribbean in 2022 was marked by calls for slavery reparations from the days of empire.

Sanghera’s claim followed a report in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday that India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and diplomats are shaping up for a campaign to reclaim items in British museums and held by the royal family later this year.

It includes the controversial Koh-i-noor diamond, which is held by the royal family and has featured in discussions about its potential use in the coronation; the treasures of Tipu Sultan, which are in the Victoria and Albert Museum and Powis Castle; and the Amaravati Marbles.

Sanghera said: “Our museums and the royal family are in possession of billions of pounds worth of Indian loot. It was a systematic part of colonial rule. The royal family was given the king’s share of that loot. When we annexed parts of India and Burma [now Myanmar], there were representatives of our museums there to take things, soldiers took loot and sold it, too.

“It’s not just the financial value of these items, there is also the emotional and religious value.

“These countries are future superpowers or superpowers already, they are not going to shut up about it.”

The moves by India are part of a wider reconsideration of its role as a former colony. Modi has encouraged school classes to be taught in Hindi and other languages rather than English, India’s parliament is being rebuilt with its MPs due to move out of the Edwin Lutyens-designed colonial era building, and roads named after former British monarchs have been changed. Lire la suite »

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