:dateline:SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar has strongly condemned the affidavit submitted by Union Government of India in the Supreme Court via its Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar. The affidavit stated�that the precious Koh-i-noor diamond was not looted by the British government but instead�gifted by Maharaja Dilip Singh to Queen Victoria.
Makkar stated that in 1849, Lord Dalhousie had stolen�the diamond from Maharaja Dilip Singh. He added that Maharaja Dilip Singh was a minor at that time and was not aware of the importance�of the�diamond to�Sikh honor. Makkar�claimed that only the Sikh community holds the right of ownership to the�Koh-i-noor and that the Union Government of India should refrain from being�obstacle in efforts to get it returned to�Punjab.
In a press release, �the president of Maharaja Dilip Singh Memorial Trust, S. Ranjit Singh Talwandi, stated that the Indian government�s affidavit was irresponsible. He stated that the Koh-i-noor is special�for the Sikh community, not because of its materialistic value, but because it is a symbol of honor for the Sikhs.
Solicitor General Ranjit 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.� Kumar’s statement has been condemned by Sikh organizations internally. �Bhai Amrik Singh, the Chair of Sikh Federation (UK) stated,��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.”
“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,” he stated in a press statement.
