Title: Koh-i-Noor
Author: Iradj Amini
Publisher: Roli Books, 1994 (First)
ISBN: 81-7436-003-4
Pages: 251
Diamonds are notorious for the
lust and cruelty which they evoke in men and the rivers of blood that had
flowed to satisfy their craving for this hardened piece of carbon. No jewel is
more famous than the Koh-i-Noor which has coloured the imaginations of many,
due to its mysterious past and the vagaries of fate that befell on its
possessors. It is also a bone of contention, though a light one, between India
and Britain as the former claims the jewel to be its own which was usurped out
of India by the colonial masters. Though there is as yet no indication of
Britain agreeing to part with the diamond, one thing is certain. Wherever be
the final resting place of Koh-i-Noor, it is sure to land up where it retains
an irresistible fascination for the public. This book is an attempt to trace it
to its historical origins and the circuitous route it took to end up where it
is now. The author, Iradj Amini is an Iranian who was educated in America and
Britain. He was the Shah of Persia’s last ambassador to Tunisia and has
authored a book on Napoleon and Persia. He lives in exile in Paris and
overcomes his nostalgia for Iran by visiting India frequently and by writing on
Indian history. His style and attitude is so Indian that never for an instant
would you suspect that it was written by a foreigner.
Though the author makes some
allusions to the provenance of the gem to references in the Mahabharata
to Syamantak Mani, we may dismiss it as more of a conjecture than any
historical fact. The diamond enters recorded history after the First Battle of
Panipat in 1526 when Babur established Mughal dynasty in India. The jewel was
handed over to his son and successor, Humayun, as a tribute from the conquered
raja of Gwalior. Humayun’s hold on power did not last long. After Babur’s
death, the empire began to disintegrate and Afghan nobles in Bihar under Sher
Shah united and defeated Humayun who went in exile to Persia. Shah Tahmasp, who
was the emperor of Persia welcomed him on the condition that he accept Shiism,
the official religion of Persia. Humayun reluctantly embraced the faith
considered heresy by Sunnis, the other branch of Islam. We note in passing that
Humayun’s father, Babur had also accepted the Shiite faith as a condition for
the Shah’s support to him in conquering Samarkand, which was Babur’s dream. But
the strictly religious subjects of Samarkand couldn’t silently acquiesce in to
an apostate ruling over them and consequently drove him out. Humayun gifted the
diamond which called Babur’s Diamond at that time to Shah Tahmasp in
1544 as a token of gratitude. However, just three years later, the Shah again
gifted it to Burhan Nizam Shah, the sultan of Ahmednagar kingdom in Deccan as a
goodwill gesture on his conversion to Shiism and making it the state religion.
All references to the gem goes out of history for a century thereafter.
We again find the diamond in the
custody of Mohammed Said, son of an oil merchant in Persia, who rose to the
position of Mir Jumla (Amir Jumla, the finance minister) of the sultan
of Golconda, by sheer intelligence and unscrupulous methods. Golconda was
famous for its diamond mines, but history is silent on how it came in his
possession. Deccan, of which Golconda was a part of, was not a peaceful place
in the middle of the 17th century. Shah Jehan and his son and
viceroy, Aurangzeb was eyeing the riches of the province. Mir Jumla’s
sympathies lay with Aurangzeb against his own master, which resulted in his
family being detained at Golconda. Aurangzeb intervened militarily on his
behalf and asked the sultan to release the prisoners and to send Mir Jumla to
Agra to serve the emperor. A grateful Mir Jumla presented Koh-i-Noor to Shah
Jehan in 1656 as an indicator of his continued fealty.
After Aurangzeb’s death, Mughal
dynasty began its gradual descent to obscurity. Mohammed Shah ‘Rangila’, the
debauched and incompetent monarch was no match to the vigorous Nadir Shah
Afshar of Persia, the son of a shepherd who usurped the Safavid throne. Mughal
army was decimated in the war in 1739 and the Shah raped and pillaged Delhi. A
huge war indemnity was collected from the Mughal, which included Babur’s
Diamond. The story goes that when Nadir Shah saw it for the first time, he was
so astonished by its size, beauty and splendour that he cried koh-i-noor
which meant ‘mountain of light’ in Persian. The diamond thus had a name.
Nadir Shah was assassinated by his own guards who grew tired of his wanton
cruelty which didn’t even spare his own son, the crown prince. The diamond,
however, was stolen by Ahmed Khan Abdali, the future king of Afghanistan and a
trusted courtier of the Shah. Ahmed Shah Durrani, as he was later known,
couldn’t consolidate his kingdom for a long time. Internecine warfare and
succession struggles made his descendant Shah Shuja to seek asylum with
Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab who extorted the jewel out of him as a kind of
ransom. Koh-i-Noor was back in India for the last time.
The Sikh kingdom flourished as
long as its colourful monarch, Ranjit Singh was in the throne. He combined
diplomacy with deft military moves and was in the good books of the British.
His death in 1839 led to succession struggles and indiscipline in the army, which
rose in revolt against the British many times. Dalip Singh, the 12-year old
prince who ascended to kingship was unable to stem the tide. After two
Anglo-Sikh wars, Punjab was permanently annexed to the colonial empire. An
article in the treaty of surrender specified handing over of Koh-i-Noor to
Queen Victoria. It was presented to her in 1850 and was put on display in the
International Trade Exhibition at London in 1851. The spectators were however
disappointed at the lack of brilliance of the gem. Microscopic flaws inside and
errors in polishing the facets was resulting in the diamond not reflecting
light to justify its name. It was re-cut in 1852, with Duke of Wellington, the
man who defeated Napoleon was the first to cut it ceremonially. The original, which
was 186 carats, was reduced to 109 carats after cutting. It is affixed to the
crown and a replica is still in display at British Museum.
Immensely enjoyable, the text
contains a concise but very informative and passionate account of the history
of the Mughals in India. The destiny of Koh-i-Noor is inextricably linked with
that of the Timurid dynasty and it is only natural that any attempt to trace
the story of the jewel should include that of the dynasty too which owned it
during the period under consideration. Also, the history of Mughals is so
colourful and rich in sensational anecdotes and bloodied with fratricidal
warfare that it rivets the readers’ attention, whatever be the context. The
book also provides insight into the mind of the most bigoted of the Mughals –
Aurangzeb. He was a unique character in the annals of Mughal history, vilified
by Indian historians and eulogized by Muslim scholars. Amini provides an
impartial evaluation of this last Great Mughal’s character. He was conceited,
cruel, unprincipled in his methods and a fundamentalist. He reinstated Jizya (a
poll tax on Hindus), destroyed temples, abolished the custom duties for Muslim
traders while doubling it for Hindus, banned Hindus except Rajputs from
carrying arms and mounting elephants and dismissed Hindu employees from the
state’s payroll. Naturally, this alienated the lion’s share of the population
and seeded the downfall of the empire. This book is a confirmation of the
emperor’s personality, coming from a neutral source. Regarding Aurangzeb’s
death, Amini says, “In this manner died the prince who was completely devoid
of scruples; who had killed three brothers before usurping the Peacock Throne
from his father, the absolute monarch whose audacity and tenacity stretched the
frontiers of his empire to unheard of limits; the religious fanatic whose
bigotry has escalated the conflict that persists to this day between Hindus and
Muslims” (p.137).
The book could have contained a
few colour plates of the diamond and other historic places mentioned in the
text. It would have added great charm to the work. Also, the reader dearly
misses a glossary. The author has used several words of Persian and Arabic
origins and the reader is kept guessing what it would mean. As an instance, we
read that Shah Tahmasp presented a taj to Humayun, and what is meant by taj
can only be presumed from the context (p. 48). The book’s strong point is
also its weak one. It gives a good depiction of Mughal history, with quick
glances at Persian history of 18th century. The story of the diamond
hangs only in the coat tails of mainline history. Though centred on India, the
author is not particularly sympathetic to her and one would hope that an
Indophile author like William Dalrymple has written this book.
The book is highly recommended.
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