June 3, 2010 – My Favourite Things

“India wants UK to return Kohinoor”. When I read this headline in The Times of India (ToI) yesterday, my first reaction was “not again!”

The Kohinoor Diamond has been in the popular emotional discourse of the country for as long as I can remember. Though the demand for the Kohinoor never makes front page or breaking news, it pops up with unfailing regularity every now and then. And each time it does, there are reactions from people asserting their self-righteous national pride, indignation, anger, cynicism, etc. Last time I checked, the ToI article had got 280 comments!