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"Return" of Koh-i-noor diamond

mardi 18 octobre 2022 à 23:33

Both India and Pakistan have called for "return" of the Koh-i-noor diamond by the remnant of the British Empire.

These requests are silly because they are anachronistic. The Koh-i-noor was part of the spoils of conquest on several occasions, across centuries, back when despoiling after conquest was normal.

Nowadays we reject the idea that victors in war have the right to loot whatever wealth they find in a defeated country, and we try to prevent that. That is a step forward. But it is absurd to selectively denounce one specific long-ago instance of this practice, and demand "restitution" of specific pieces of loot to a previous conqueror.