Koh-i-Noor as a Children's Story of Theft and Colonization

(IDEX Online) - A new children's picture book relating the story of the Koh-i-Noor as one of theft and colonial conquest, has just been published in India.

Supriya Kelkar, a US-based author and illustrator of Indian origin, tells how the world's most famous diamond was "stolen" by the British East India Company after the defeat of the Sikh Empire in 1849 and presented to Britain's Queen Victoria.

Her book, And Yet You Shine: The Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and Resistance, was released last year in the US and has now been published in India by Scholastic.

She probes beyond the historical events, urging young readers to consider the origins of museum artifacts, what they represent and how history is recorded.

The iconic Type IIa D-color gem was re-cut to 105.6 carats, almost half its original size, to take pride of place as 105.6-ct center-piece of the late Queen Elizabeth II's crown.

It has been the subject of endless controversy, with India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan all laying claim to it, but it remains a part of the British crown jewels, on permanent display at the Tower of London Jewel House.

An earlier book by Kelkar, Strong As Fire, Fierce As Flame, also explores themes of colonization.

Pic shows cover of the book.