NEW DELHI — The Indian government has begun a campaign for the return of a historic 105.6-carat diamond that was either a gift to Queen Victoria from the maharajah of Punjab in 1849 or stolen by the British, depending on some widely divergent perspectives.

After some indecision, the Indian Culture Ministry said on Tuesday evening that it would make “all possible efforts” to arrange the return of the diamond, the Koh-i-Noor, now residing in the Tower of London, where it is a centerpiece of the British royal family’s crown jewels.

As with the Elgin marbles, the Parthenon sculptures and other artifacts that Greece has long tried to reclaim from Britain, the ownership of the diamond has been a contentious issue for decades.

For many Indians, the Koh-i-Noor — or Mountain of Light — is a symbol of colonial subjugation and three centuries of exploitation that began with the East India Company in the early 17th century, culminated in the absorption of India as a colony after a major uprising in 1857 and ended with the independence, and partition, of India in 1947.