Story of Koh-i-noor
The Koh-i-noor was mined at Kollur Mine in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, under the rulership of the Kakatiya Dynasty.
It is a 105.6 carats (21.6 gram) white diamond.
It is currently a part of the British Crown.
The stone had had been at the center of violence, murders, torture, mutilations and treachery in its long history that it has gained a status of a cursed stone.
The Curse of the Kohinoor Diamond: “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its mis- fortunes. Only God, or a woman, call wear it with impunity.”
The Koh-i-noor was in the possession of Sultan Ala-ud- Din Khilji in 1304.
It landed in the possession of the Emperor Babur in 1526, which was later embedded in the Peacock Throne by Emperor Shah Jahan.
The stone then fell into the hands of the Persian invader Nadir Shah in 1739.
In 1747 Nadir Shah was assassinated and the stone passed hands to Ahmad Shah Durani and passed along to his descendant Shah Shuja.
Kashmir had captured and imprisoned Shah Shuja, and his wife Wafa Begam in a bid to rescue him, went to the Sikhs for help. In return of the favour she promised Maharaja Ranjit Singh the prized Koh-i-noor.
The Sikhs rescued Shah Shuja at the cost of may lives. A message was sent to Wafa Begum asking for the delivery of the Koh-i-noor the very next day.
She lied to Maharaja Ranjit saying that the stone was pawned with a moneylender in Kandahar.
Maharaja Ranjit, knowing it to be a lie, offered a token payment of 3 lakhs of rupees and assign a jagir of Rs. 50,000 a year.
Having exhausted his patience, Maharaja Ranjit made a peremptory demand for the stone. He also surrounded the Mubarak Haveli with heavy guard.
June 1, 1813: With 600 horsemen Maharaja Ranit rode up to Mubarak Haveli, to takeover the Koh-i-noor.
A servant was ordered to bring the diamond from the Zenana by the Shah
Maharaja Ranjit Singh unwrapped the bundle and took the diamond out and turned it around under his single eye.
Bhawani Das, who had seen the diamond already, was with the Maharaja and he was to confirm the authenticity of the stone in hand.
Once satisfied, Maharaja Ranjit Singh rewrapped it in the same cloth and rode out without a word.
