Daily Times

Ushna Shah, a Pakistani actress, possesses many talents but is unable to crack jokes. The 33-year-old actress, whose status and long career speak volumes about her fame, may find herself surrounded by adversaries and trolls whenever she attempts to remark on an issue. Ushna Shah spoke about British King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s recent coronation, as well as the jewellery worn by the reigning monarchs on their ascension to the throne and remarked on the Subcontinent’s long-debated colonised history and the impacts endured by Pakistan to date.

On Saturday, May 6, Queen Camilla donned the historic ‘Lahore Necklace,’ also known as the famous ‘Coronation Necklace,’ during the crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey. While netizens were mourning how British colonisation affected the Subcontinent’s discourse and history, the Bashar Momin-famous actress said that the Lahore necklace was ‘safe’ in the hands of the British Monarchy rather than Pakistani officials. The statements about colonial thievery clearly irritated social media users, prompting Shah to not only defend herself but also apologise.

Shah uploaded a picture of the diamond necklace and a tweet about it on Monday. ‘A sad reality in my opinion: Had all the stolen jewels remained in the subcontinent, especially on our side, would they really have remained the property of the state and protected in a museum? At least this way we get to have another reason to wag our fingers at the colonisers whilst getting to see our heritage in all its glory..on TV…on…them.’ Shah wrote with a side-eye emoji.

She concluded, ‘Had they not colonised us in the first place, perhaps these treasures would have remained safe and intact but that’s another conversation.’

Following scrutiny from the public, the Parizaad diva put out another tweet calling colonisation ‘a sad reality’ in trying to defend her prior perspective; nevertheless, Shah’s words did not correlate with her purpose and she faced even more condemnation. She tweeted, ‘Guys, I was joking. Humans do that,’ and shared her ‘case and point.’

She added, ‘1. Colonisers are terrible, no question about it. Hence I called them “colonisers” alongside the hashtag coronation2023.

My tweet was tongue in cheek jibe at the thieves WITHIN the country. The emoji and the dot dot dot between words is meant to reiterate the fact that this is, in fact, a joke. I thought that would be enough?

The quip is that we at least we get to SEE the jewels this way She further explained, ‘Had we not been colonised in the first place, our political structure would not have been destabilised and filled with corruption, and we may have still had a monarchy or at least a respectable governance which would have ensured a well-preserved heritage. But because they destabilised us, the jewels would have disappeared from sight had our oppressors not plundered when they left. And a dry joke on the fact that “at least they’re in sight.””

The Bitiya Hamaray Zamanay Meinactress further stated, ‘That was really all it was. That being said, even if it had been some pro-monarchist statement, aren’t personal attacks, ridiculing and name-calling a bit much over a remark about diamonds that were stolen hundreds of years ago.’

Shah later apologised with the statement, ‘My apologies I take back what I said about the Crown Jewels. Based on the track record of this Country, they would have surely remained safe and secure in museums for generations of citizens to marvel at & not hidden in some politicians safe, just like the rest of Mughal treasures have been. By the way, me referring to them as colonisers aren’t exactly praising them unless the meaning has changed since I last checked?’

For background context, After British colonisers took control of Lahore in 1849, the Lahore Diamond was ‘presented’ to Queen Victoria in 1851. According to the Royal Collection Trust, the necklace was added to Queen Victoria’s jewellery collection. The diamond necklace was made up of 26 diamonds, including a 22.48-carat pendant passed down throughout generations of the British Royal family. According to the reports, the spectacular necklace was worn during coronations in 1902, 1911, 1937 and 1953.

Meanwhile, on the professional front, Shah
has recently appeared in the dramas Pinky Ka Dulha, Bewafa, Dikhawa, Bandhay Aik Dor Se, Aakhir Kab Tak, Parizaad and Habs.