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| Where are the Maharaja's jewels? No idea | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Dec 23: Hundreds of diamonds, rubies, gold bars and other valuables owned by Kashmir's Maharaja Hari Singh seem to have gone missing. An appraisal done by the Sotheby's in 1983 for the Jammu and Kashmir government had valued the Maharaja's treasure trove to be around Rs 5,000 cr.
An RTI activist, who sought information on the treasure from the J&K government, says that the current value would be Rs 100,000 cr at least. The J&K government on the directions of High Court had made an inventory of all the items, but that list is missing. Bashir Assad, the RTI activist, told this newspaper that he was verbally conveyed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's Secretariat "We have no idea if the French valuator was ever assigned the job of valuation by the government as there is no such document available with the Toshkhana office at Srinagar us."
"This reply has raised questions about the safety of Maharaja Hari Singh's treasure," Assad said.
In 1947, when Maharaja Hari Singh left Kashmir, he deposited eight steel trunks with the Toshkhana (Treasury) in Jammu under the trusteeship of his officer Iqbal Nath. The trunks, according to official documents, were shifted to Srinagar in 1951 and kept in the Toshkhana on Residency Road. Iqbal Nath was responsible for the treasure until 1983.
A retired employee of the Srinagar Toshkhana said that on 20 July 1983, the J&K government had made a list according to which the Maharaja's treasure included scores of uncut diamonds and emeralds. There were two necklaces containing 200 blue diamonds and hundreds of rubies from Sri Lanka and Burma. The costliest item on the list was a pearl and diamond necklace dating back to 1802. The list also includes crowns, bracelets, rings, gold swords and watches.
Unconfirmed reports say that successive state governments have helped themselves to the jewels. A retired official said that in 1963 two boxes containing 717 kg of gold (worth Rs 60 cr at the time) were donated to the defence fund started by the Indian government after the Indo-China war of 1962.
Bashir Assad, who is waiting for a written reply, said that he would go to the State Information Commission if the J&K government does not give him an answer. |
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