According to the renowned economist Utsa Patnaik –just published by Columbia University Press roughly nearly two centuries of detailed data on tax and trade, Patnaik calculated that Britain literally drained a total of roughly $45 trillion from India during the period 1765 to 1938.This whooping sum is approximately 17 times more than the total annual gross domestic product of the United Kingdom today.There is no semblance of benevolence on the part of Great Britain who proudly talked about the introduction of the Railways, government administration and democracy. This post covers two famous gem stones in the world Timur Ruby and Kohi--noor diamond which finally reached Queen Victoria after the Take over of the Punjab Kingdom (Undivided India) From the family of Maharajah Ranjit Singh. These two valuable gems are just a drop of an ocean.
The history of the British Raj is often illustrated through its grand architecture and administrative systems, but its darker undercurrents are best captured by the fate of two extraordinary gemstones: the Koh-i-Noor Diamond and the Timur Ruby. These gems, once the pride of the Sikh Empire’s Toshakhana (Royal Treasury) in Lahore, were not mere diplomatic gifts; they were the spoils of a calculated military and psychological campaign waged against a ten-year-old sovereign, Maharajah Duleep Singh.
The Timur Ruby: A Legacy in Spinel
The "Timur Ruby" is one of the world's most historically significant gemstones. Although gemological examination in 1851 revealed it to be a 361-carat red spinel rather than a true ruby, its value lies in its provenance. Its surface serves as a lithic record of Central Asian history, etched with the names of former owners, including the Mughal Emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan, and the Persian conqueror Nader Shah.
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| Timur Ruby gemselect.com |
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| 361 ct irregularly shaped Timur Ruby deccanherald.com |
By 1813, the stone reached the collection of the "Lion of Punjab," Maharajah Ranjit Singh. Following a period of bloody succession, it passed to his son Sher Singh, and eventually to the child-king Duleep Singh. To the British East India Company (EIC), this gem was a symbol of paramountcy over the fabled wealth of the East.
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| Maharajah Ranjit Singh thecourtjeweller.com |
The Koh-i-Noor: The Mountain of Light
Accompanying the Timur Ruby in fame and controversy is the Koh-i-Noor. Originally weighing 186 carats, this diamond was unearthed from the Kollur mines of the Krishna River valley in modern-day Andhra Pradesh.
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| Koh-i-noor Diamond and British Crown hindustantimes.com |
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| Koh-i-noor Diamond en.wikipedia.org |
Unlike the Timur Ruby, the Koh-i-Noor carried a persistent legend of a curse: it supposedly brought great misfortune and violent ends to any man who wore it, while granting protection to female wearers. This superstition deeply influenced its later use by the British Royal Family, who ensured it was only ever worn by queens and queen consorts.
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| Famous Indian diamonds universalinstitutions.com |
Above image:Many famous diamonds mined in the Alluvial deposits of the Krishna river,Guntur District,Andhra were looted by the colonial rulers and others in the past............
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| Queen Victoria en.wikipedia.org |
Above image:After the death of Ranjit Singh, Maharajh of Sikh Empire the British company deposed of minor Maharaja Duleep Singh and took possession of both Koh-i-Noor and the Timur Ruby.
Both gems left India in April 1850 and were presented to Queen Victoria in July 1850 by the Brtish as trophies of British-Sikh war.......
The "Treaty" and the Coercion of a Minor
The acquisition of these gems occurred in 1849, following the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The EIC, led by the ambitious Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, used the Treaty of Lahore to formalize the annexation of Punjab. Historians widely view this transaction as a glaring act of theft. The Maharajah was a minor, isolated from his mother, Jind Kaur, and surrounded by foreign guardians. Under extreme duress, the ten-year-old was forced to sign away his kingdom and his ancestral treasures. This was not a peace treaty between equals; it was a surrender extracted from a child.
Journey to the Crown
The gems were officially handed over to Dr. John Login in Lahore under a receipt dated December 7, 1849. Their journey to England was a high-stakes maritime operation. The treasures left Bombay (not Chennai, as sometimes speculated) on April 6, 1850, aboard the HMS Medea. To prevent theft or a rescue attempt by Sikh loyalists, the diamond’s presence on the ship was kept a closely guarded secret, known only to a few high-ranking officers.
On July 3, 1850, the gems were formally presented to Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace by Sir J.W. Hogg, Deputy Chairman of the EIC. While the Queen was aware that the gems were spoils of war taken from a child, she accepted them as symbols of the Empire's "civilizing" mission. In 1863, the crown jeweler, Garrard, designed a specialized necklace for the Queen that allowed the Timur Ruby to be interchanged with the Koh-i-Noor, highlighting their dual importance to the British monarchy.
Present Status and the Debt of History
Today, the Koh-i-Noor is set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) and is on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. The Timur Ruby remains in the private collection of the British monarch, cataloged as a necklace of four large spinels.
The ownership of these stones remains a diplomatic flashpoint. While the British government maintains that the gems were obtained legally, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan continue to advocate for their return. The plight of Duleep Singh—who was brought to London, forced into a lavish yet isolated life at Elveden Hall, and died a broken man in Paris—remains a poignant reminder that these gemstones are fragments of a looted national identity, reflecting the "dark side" of an empire built on the riches of the vanquished.
https://universalinstitutions.com/andhra-pradesh-indias-kohinoor-home-to-the-famed-diamond
https://road-to-nara.com/tag/the-story-of-timur-ruby
https://www.rediff.com/news/special/how-the-british-stole-the-kohinoor-from-a-child/20170123.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koh-i-Noor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur_Ruby
K. N. Jayaraman (Author: navrangindia.blogspot.com)
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