Jewel in the crown: History of the Kohinoor

Senior journalist Swapan Dasgupta led the session on the Kohinoor diamond on the second day of the Jaipur Literature Festival 2017. The talk was focused on the newly-launched book Kohinoor, co-written by historian William Dalrymple and journalist Anita Anand.

Talking about his book, Dalrymple said, “Kohinoor, the diamond, is claimed by five countries, namely Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iran and Taliban… Our book is factually established with hard evidence.”

The weather was pleasant and the audience listened to the speakers with rapt attention as the story of the Kohinoor, full of geopolitical intrigue and historical ups-and-downs, was recounted from the stage.

It would not be wrong to say that both the writers, Dalrymple and Anand, had taken on the role of storytellers. The session included a slide show providing a historical glimpse into the lives of various rulers who had acquired the diamond at one time or another. Looking at it, one could sense the depth of research that went into the making of this book. 

Anita Anand, who is a British journalist, talked about the section written by her in this book. “My contribution in the book is the period of history from India to Britain’s Tower of London, where the diamond now rests. There was a time when British press became quite interested in the Kohinoor and the newspaper cartoons published during that time show this. Kohinoor had become the symbol of British India.”