Indian politicians want famous diamond returned

Politicians in India have launched a campaign for the return of a fabled diamond that forms the centrepiece of the British royal family's collection of Crown jewels.

The upper house member and former High Commissioner to Britain, Kuldip Nayar, presented a motion in parliament for the return of the hundred-carat Kohinoor diamond.

He said it had been taken forcibly from the Maharajah Dalip Singh of Punjab in the nineteenth century.

But British historical experts say the Kohinoor was a gift from the Maharajah to the British monarch.

The British High Commissioner to India said there are no plans to return the gem.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service