Vae victis, and to the victor go the spoils. (This is not an endorsement.) > "When the powerful take things from the less powerful, the powerless don't have much to do except curse the powerful," Kurin says. Indeed.
The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
231–240 of 327 posts
Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#232Not a fan of the British crown (why are they exempt from taxes during record high inflation) but who should they return the diamond to - Afghanistan (it was the Durranis that looted it from Nader Shah after he looted it from the Mughals), India (Maharaja Ranjit Singh took it as tribute from Shah Shuja after conquering Kashmir from the Durranis), or Pakistan (the Sikh Empire capital was Lahore and the Durrani Empire c…
I guess that means if somebody stole the diamond from the crown today, they would get to keep it?
Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#233Not a fan of the British crown (why are they exempt from taxes during record high inflation) but who should they return the diamond to - Afghanistan (it was the Durranis that looted it from Nader Shah after he looted it from the Mughals), India (Maharaja Ranjit Singh took it as tribute from Shah Shuja after conquering Kashmir from the Durranis), or Pakistan (the Sikh Empire capital was Lahore and the Durrani Empire c…
I guess that means if somebody stole the diamond from the crown today, they would get to keep it?
Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
Should Mali also pay reparations to Ghana over the atrocities they committed during 13th century wars of conquest?
Your comment is somewhat meaningless in the context. But yes, in general, I believe that if you commit or benefit from atrocities, you should be held accountable. Even if it was your grandfather that murdered people and you inherit the wealth he looted, you should at the very least give that wealth back once you realise that it was wrong, especially if the people you looted from are dying from lack of resources. Also…
Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your comment is somewhat meaningless in the context. But yes, in general, I believe that if you commit or benefit from atrocities, you should be held accountable. Even if it was your grandfather that murdered people and you inherit the wealth he looted, you should at the very least give that wealth back once you realise that it was wrong, especially if the people you looted from are dying from lack of resources. Also…
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Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#236Not a fan of the British crown (why are they exempt from taxes during record high inflation) but who should they return the diamond to - Afghanistan (it was the Durranis that looted it from Nader Shah after he looted it from the Mughals), India (Maharaja Ranjit Singh took it as tribute from Shah Shuja after conquering Kashmir from the Durranis), or Pakistan (the Sikh Empire capital was Lahore and the Durrani Empire c…
Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#237Not a fan of the British crown (why are they exempt from taxes during record high inflation) but who should they return the diamond to - Afghanistan (it was the Durranis that looted it from Nader Shah after he looted it from the Mughals), India (Maharaja Ranjit Singh took it as tribute from Shah Shuja after conquering Kashmir from the Durranis), or Pakistan (the Sikh Empire capital was Lahore and the Durrani Empire c…
I guess that means if somebody stole the diamond from the crown today, they would get to keep it?
That's how it's always worked.
Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#238Maybe the final curse of the Koh-i-noor is that it is a constant reminder to its possessor that they are the inheritor of crimes upon crimes, stretching back centuries. Of course, everyone's life is built on millennia of injustices, but for a family to own such a basic symbol of this ... let them keep it, and own the curse it carries.
Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#239Not a fan of the British crown (why are they exempt from taxes during record high inflation) but who should they return the diamond to - Afghanistan (it was the Durranis that looted it from Nader Shah after he looted it from the Mughals), India (Maharaja Ranjit Singh took it as tribute from Shah Shuja after conquering Kashmir from the Durranis), or Pakistan (the Sikh Empire capital was Lahore and the Durrani Empire c…
Those diamonds were mined in Kollur in modern day south India. It should go back to them. And yes, before you harp on it, the land we call America should go back to the Native Americans, the aboriginals of Australia and New Zealand should also get their lands back. Or whoever else has been the subject of conquest. Ultimately, slavery, caste, and colonization are institutions of brutality. Reparations are owed. Britai…
Re: The Koh-i-Noor diamond, and why the British won’t give it back (2017)
#240Not a fan of the British crown (why are they exempt from taxes during record high inflation) but who should they return the diamond to - Afghanistan (it was the Durranis that looted it from Nader Shah after he looted it from the Mughals), India (Maharaja Ranjit Singh took it as tribute from Shah Shuja after conquering Kashmir from the Durranis), or Pakistan (the Sikh Empire capital was Lahore and the Durrani Empire c…
The Crown pays taxes: https://www.royal.uk/royal-finances-0?ch=5#bio-section-4
The Crown is effectively the state. It's different from the private income and possessions of the Monarch and Royal family.