Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked King Charles III’s visit to New York City on Wednesday by calling for the royal return of a 105-carat diamond taken from India in the 19th century.
The pair met briefly at a wreath-laying ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on Wednesday afternoon. But when asked earlier in the day what he would say to His Majesty if the two spoke one-on-one, Mamdani invoked the United Kingdom’s colonial history.
“I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond,” Mamdani told reporters at an unrelated event in the Bronx, referring to the gem that is now a British crown jewel.
Mamdani is the city’s first South Asian, Muslim and African-born mayor. He’s said his childhood was shaped by his own immigrant experience as a New Yorker born in Uganda. Mamdani’s father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a scholar of African colonial history.
Experts noted his comments reflect a popular critique among many in the Indian diaspora.
Some historians have described the diamond as a gift to the British after the annexation of Punjab in 1849. Others reject that description. BBC broadcaster and author Anita Anand, who wrote a book about the diamond, said it was “taken by the British, by force, from a frightened little boy,” the 10-year-old son of the late Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who had died a decade earlier.
Mayor Mamdani and King Charles exchanged pleasantries at a wreath-laying ceremony at the 9/11 memorial.
“To have a mayor who has a firm grasp on the devastating history of colonialism on us as a people but also our culture and our, well, things feels powerful for many New Yorkers,” said journalist S. Mitra Kalita, publisher of Epicenter and CEO of URL Media. “In a city defined by immigrants, his comments represent what many of us see and feel in a bizarre perpetuation and celebration of monarchy.”
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran all have laid claims to the diamond.
In recent years, the British royal family has acknowledged the controversy over the Koh-i-Noor diamond. At King Charles III's coronation three years ago, the royal family opted against using the Koh-i-Noor diamond in the crown for Camilla, the Queen Consort, according to the BBC.
The collective cost of British colonialism to India is still being calculated. Economist Utsa Patnaik released a study in 2018 that found the Brits soaked India for some $45 trillion from 1765 to 1938.
“We’re still very much reckoning with this legacy,” said Versha Sharma, former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. “I think it once again shows how the mayor is in tune with the hopes and demands of our South Asian community across generations.”
