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Indians fume over Margot Robbie's ‘Elizabeth Taylor' necklace: ‘They be stealing our whole culture’
The Taj Mahal necklace, given to Nur Jahan by Jehangir, has a storied history. Recently worn by Margot Robbie, it sparked outrage in India.
Margot Robbie has turned Indian internet against herself as she turned up to the premiere of Wuthering Heights in Los Angeles in a sparkling but controversial piece of jewellery.
All about Margot Robbie's necklace
All eyes were on her and her beatle-leaf shaped golden pendant, encrusted with rubies. It was hoisted on a golden string and an inscription in Farsi could very well be seen on it.
Speaking to the media, Margot Robbie said that the necklace once belonged to Elizebeth Taylor and was given to her by Cartier for the event. While most of this is indeed true, Margot did leave out a vital piece of the jewel's history: It once belonged in India.
As per The Juggernaut report, the necklace was given to Mughal empress Nur Jahan by her husband Jehangir. It later passed down to his son Shah Jahan and he gave it to his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in the memory of whom, the iconic monument was made. It hence earned the name, the Taj Mahal necklace.
Even the inscription on the necklace includes Nur Jahan's name, her title ‘Lady of the Padshah’ and numbers 23 (regnal year of Jehangir) the year 1037 (around 1627-28 AD).
From India, the necklace was taken to the US and was later bought by actor Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor on her 40th birthday for $350,000. Most recently, it was acquired by Cartier during an auction, for $8.8 million.
What is the internet saying?
Evidently, people in India are not pleased about it. A person wrote, “Stolen property.” Another said, “Give us our jewels back. Go make and display and museumify ur own. Is all I have to say.”
A person commented, “I’m a direct descendant of Noor Jahan. And I found it sickening when Margot said “I’m wearing Elizabeth Taylor’s necklace”. We need the necklace back amongst our people. @margotrobbieofficial disrespectful.”
A comment also blamed Margot for not knowing the true ancestry of the necklace. “Not only is it incredibly disrespectful that she didn’t know who the necklace actually belonged to, it just shows the amount of arrogance in these celebrities. Wearing a royal jewel, that too a personal gift out at an event like this is just bizarre.”
Many are also calling for the jewels to be returned to India.
