:dateline:In a press statement shared with Sikh24 on April 18, Bhai Amrik Singh of Sikh Federation (UK) stated that the British media would be advised to seek advice of British Sikh scholars and activists rather than rely on incorrect information supplied by Indian Solicitor General, Ranjit Kumar. �Bhai Amrik Singh said that Kumar’s statements on the Koh-i-noor lack basic knowledge of Sikh history.���
Kumar had told the Indian Supreme Court in a written statement that the diamond was given voluntarily by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to the British to compensate for the Anglo-Sikh wars.��”Someone with a basic knowledge of history will know the Maharaja died in 1839 and the two wars took place years later from 1845-1849,” Bhai Amrik Singh said.
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Sikhs worldwide associate the Koh-i-Noor diamond with Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Kingdom, but when the Sikh Kingdom was annexed�by�the�British�on 29 March 1849, its ruler was Maharaja Ranjit Singh�s youngest son.
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Maharaja, Duleep Singh was only 10 years of age when the�last�Anglo-Sikh Treaty�of�Lahore�was�signed�by�Lord Dalhousie, the�Governor-General of�India.��It is well known the�young�Maharaja�was�separated from his mother who�had�been�imprisoned�more�than�two�years�earlier�and�he was�not allowed to meet her again for thirteen and a half years.��It is a well known fact he was duped into handing�the�Koh-i-Noor over to Queen Victoria.
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“When it comes to custody of the�Kohn-i-Noor�diamond, successive British�Prime�Ministers�have�referred�to�the�Anglo–Sikh�Treaties to justify it as a spoil to war. The Indian Solicitor General and the Indian government has now also acknowledged the Anglo-Sikh Treaties.��However, both governments should also admit when India and Pakistan were created some 69 years ago the British hastily exited and reneged on the Anglo-Sikh Treaties that should have also resulted in a Sikh Kingdom,” Bhai Amrik Singh stated in the press statement.
