Los Angeles: When leading lady Margot Robbie attended the world premiere of her upcoming film ‘Wuthering Heights’ in Los Angeles recently, little did she know the controversy she would create in India.
The Australia-born Hollywood actress walked the red carpet wearing a stunning gown. But what caught the attention of fans was a heart-shaped diamond necklace, encrusted with rubies, which Robbie paired with her outfit.
It was the iconic Cartier Taj Mahal gold and diamond necklace, with a Parsi inscription that translates to ‘Love is Everlasting’, and is estimated to be worth $8.8 million (Rs 74 crore approximately).
The actress said that the necklace once belonged to legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor, and was given to her by Cartier for the event. However, she didn’t mention about the necklace’s origins in India.
Netizens in India took offence, and social media was soon engaged in a heated discussion on heritage items being stolen from India before its independence.
“Elizabeth Taylor’s necklace?! Sweetie that was STOLEN from India, the inscription is literally in Urdu and says Noor Jahan,” pointed out one user.
“Give us our jewels back. Go make and display and museumify ur own. Is all I have to say,” fumed ano
ther user.
One angry person wrote: “So when exactly did Elizabeth Taylor become ‘Noor Jahan’? Anyone who reads Urdu or Persian can see the inscription: ‘Nur Jahan Begum Padshah 1037 AH’ (Islamic year). This necklace was given by Jahangir, the 4th Mughal Emperor, to his wife Nur Jahan.”
Another scathing comment read, “Thieves trying to rename stolen goods.”
“They really never beat the allegations of being a thief… It’s not yours,” fumed another netizen.
“Margot wearing a necklace that originally was gifted to nur jahan, the wife of jahangir – the 4th mughal emperor. But guess what the articles say, apparently the necklace ‘found its way’ to elizabeth taylor. Mind you this has no way of ‘finding its way’ to a white woman,” posted one person.
The history
It was Mughal emperor Jahangir who received the necklace as a royal gift in the 1600s. She gifted it to his wife Nur Jahan, whose name, her title ‘Lady of the Padshah’ and numbers 23 (regnal year of Jahangir), the year 1037 (around 1627-28 AD) are inscribed on it.
The pendant was later handed down to Shah Jahan, who gave it to his wife Mumtaz Mahal, in whose memory the iconic Taj Mahal monument in Agra was created. Thus, it came to be known as the ‘Taj Mahal’ necklace.
According to historians, it was taken during Nadir Shah’s invasion of Delhi in 1739.
Thereafter, the necklace was taken to the US and later bought by actor Richard Burton for his wife Elizabeth Taylor’s 40th birthday for $350,000.
The necklace, which went to auction in 2011 after Elizabeth’s death, was acquired by Cartier for $8.8 million.