Kuldip Nayar's op-ed

Renowned Indian writer/journalist/retired diplomat Kuldip Nayar in his latest op-ed "The Kohinoor Story" published in The Daily Star on April 21, has written something grossly inaccurate, historically. I cite the following paragraph, which doesn't make any sense at all: "Lord Dalhousie did not only take Dalip Singh to Britain after converting his religion but also appropriated the Kohinoor as a 'possession' of the British. He was so careful about the protection of the diamond that he did not take the usual Suez Canal route to London but went around South Africa, nearly twice the distance."

Nayar is a very respectable writer, but he was simply carried away by a myth, which can only raise eyebrows and make people laugh! Lord Dalhousie couldn't have accompanied Maharaja Dalip Singh to Britain after the Suez Canal has already been opened. Dalhousie died in 1860 (he was only 48) and the Suez Canal was officially opened in November 1869, nine years after Dalhousie's death. So, he couldn't have avoided the Canal which didn't exist during Dalhousie's lifetime!