Is Dariya-i-Noor, Kohinoor’s sister diamond, lying in a bank vault in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh is set to unearth the mystery of the impressive Darya-e-Noor diamond, which is believed to be kept in a bank vault. The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has decided to unseal the vault at the state-run bank.

The Darya-e-Noor, or Dariya-i-Noor, is said to be a sister of the famous Kohinoor, which remains in the United Kingdom. Both diamonds were taken from India. So, how did Dariya-i-Noor reach Bangladesh’s vault, if it is even there?

Let’s take a look.

History of Dariya-i-Noor

Dariya-i-Noor, a 26-carat diamond, has an oblong table-shaped surface, as per Bangladesh’s The Business Standard.

The diamond is said to have been mined from the Golconda mines in south India. The Kohinoor diamond is also believed to have come from the same mines.

Dariya-i-Noor is set in the centre of a gold armlet, encircled by ten smaller diamonds, each around five carats, according to The Business Standard report.

According to Hamilton and Company, a trusted goldsmith and jeweller of the British rulers in India, the Dariya-i-Noor was long possessed by the Maratha kings. The family of Nawab Siraj-ul-Mulk, a minister of Hyderabad, later purchased the diamond.

The Kohinoor and its sister diamond eventually made their way to the Punjabi ruler Ranjit Singh, who wore both gems as armlets.

The Sikh ruler died and the diamonds changed ownership, falling into British hands in the 19th century.

According to The Business Standard, like Kohinoor, Dariya-i-Noor was sent to Queen Victoria from Lahore after the British forced Duleep Singh, Ranjit Singh’s youngest boy, to surrender the diamonds and any sovereignty claims.

However, it is said that Dariya-i-Noor failed to impress the queen. Viceroy Lord Dufferin and Lady Dufferin saw the gem at the Nawab’s house in Calcutta’s Ballygunge in 1887. In her book Our Viceroyal Life in India, Lady Dufferin wrote, “The Dariya-i-Noor, being a flat diamond, did not strike us as very attractive”.

Khwaja Alimullah, the first Nawab of Dhaka, bought the diamond in an auction in 1852.

Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka faced financial trouble in 1908. He borrowed from British colonial powers, mortgaging his vast Dhaka estates, along with Dariya-i-Noor and his other treasures.

From Imperial Bank of India to the State Bank of Pakistan, the diamond subsequently found its way to Bangladesh’s state-run Sonali Bank.

This was the last confirmed sighting of the Dariya-i-Noor. Only mystery has surrounded it since then.

There’s another diamond of the same name, the pink-coloured Daria-i-Noor, which is in Iran’s capital, Tehran.

ALSO READ: Will UK return the Kohinoor? Fascinating history of the diamond and India’s efforts to reclaim it

Is Dariya-i-Noor in Bangladesh?

The Dariya-i-Noor is likely to be worth $13 million (Rs 114.5 crore) today.

The 1908 court papers say the diamond was part of a trove of 108 treasures, which also include a gold-and-silver sword encrusted with diamonds, a bejewelled fez with cascading pearls, and a star brooch, reported AFP. 

The vault was last opened and verified back in 1985, as per The Business Standard. Reports surfaced in 2017 that Dariya-i-Noor had gone missing. However, the Sonali Bank officials said they had never seen the diamond. Even today, speculations exist whether the gem is even there in the vault.

Khawaja Naim Murad, great-grandson of the Nawab of Dhaka, told the French news agency that he hopes to see the diamond.

Shawkat Ali Khan, managing director of Sonali Bank, said, “The vault is sealed. Many years back, an inspection team came to check on the jewels, but they never really opened it – they just opened the gate that held the vault.”

He told AFP he was keen about the vault being opened at last: “I am excited.”

However, no date has been set yet. Whether the mystery of Dariya-i-Noor will end or not, we will have to wait and watch.

With inputs from agencies