New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani backs return of Koh-i-Noor diamond to India amid King Charles’ US go to | World Information
3 min learnUp to date: Apr 30, 2026 09:11 AM IST
New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday stated he would urge Britain’s King Charles to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond to India, making the remarks throughout the monarch’s ongoing go to to the USA. “If I have been to talk to the king individually from that [the event King Charles was attending]I’d most likely encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond,” Mamdani stated at a press convention held hours earlier than a ceremony marking the victims of the September 11, 2001, assaults.
The comment is especially vital given Mamdani’s Indian origin (his mom is Indian filmmaker Mira Nair) and his platform because the chief of one of many world’s most distinguished cities.
The King and Queen Camilla are at the moment in the USA on a four-day go to, partly to commemorate the twenty fifth anniversary of the September 11 assaults.
#WATCH | “If I have been to talk to the King individually from that, I’d most likely encourage him to return the Kohinoor diamond,” says New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on assembly King Charles III throughout the wreath-laying ceremony on the 9/11 memorial in New York.
(Supply: Mayor Zohran… pic.twitter.com/EExmI1ypqA
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2026
King Charles later interacted with Mamdani throughout the commemorative occasion. Buckingham Palace declined to touch upon the matter, as per information company Reuters. Mamdani’s workplace, too, didn’t reply to requests looking for clarification on whether or not the problem was raised throughout their interplay.
India has repeatedly sought the return of the 105-carat diamond from Britain. The diamond was offered to Queen Victoria in 1850 after the East India Firm annexed Punjab in 1849. The switch was organized by Britain’s then colonial governor-general after the gem was taken from a deposed Indian ruler Maharaja Duleep Singh.
King Charles on Wednesday paid tribute to the victims of the 9/11 assaults by laying a floral bouquet on the memorial constructed on the website the place the dual towers of the World Commerce Heart as soon as stood.
India’s stand on Koh-i-Noor
India in 2016 described the Koh-i-Noor as a “valued piece of artwork with robust roots in our nation’s historical past”. For a lot of Indians, Britain’s possession of the diamond stays a reminder of colonial-era exploitation. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had stated, “To use our good relations with some nation to acquire free presents from it of invaluable articles doesn’t appear to be fascinating. Alternatively, it does appear to be fascinating that international museums ought to have Indian objects of artwork.”
Based on the Historic Royal Palaces charity, the Koh-i-Noor has handed by means of the arms of Mughal emperors, Iranian shahs, Afghan emirs and Sikh maharajas over the centuries.
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It was mined in India’s Kollur Mine and handed by means of the arms of a number of rulers over centuries. It grew to become a part of the British Crown Jewels in 1849 following the British annexation of Punjab. Koh-i-Noor is counted amongst is one in all the most important reduce diamonds on this planet. It at the moment sits on public show as a part of the British Crown Jewels within the Jewel Home of the Tower of London.
