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Sengol (IAST: ceṅkōl) is a gold-plated silver sceptre, installed in India's New Parliament House by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023. It was originally gifted to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India on the eve of Independence, 14 August 1947, by a delegation of holy men from the Adheenam monastery. After seven decades, incumbent home minister Amit Shah propagated an ahistorical narrative, wrongly claiming the Sengol as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British regime unto Indians.

History

Nehru

As the Independence of India drew near, Jawaharlal Nehru and other luminaries of the Indian National Congress partook in many religious ceremonies that sought to augur well for the incipient nation and received a multitude of gifts in the process. On one such occasion, on 14 August, Nehru was presented with the Sengol by emissaries from the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam Matha at his home.

From Tanjore in south India came two emissaries of Sri Amblavana Desigar, head of a sannyasi order of Hindu ascetics. Sri Amblavana thought that Nehru, as first Indian head of a really Indian Government ought, like ancient Hindu kings, to receive the symbol of power and authority from Hindu holy men One sannyasi carried a sceptre of gold, five feet long, two inches thick. He sprinkled Nehru with holy water from Tanjore and drew a streak in sacred ash across Nehru's forehead. Then he wrapped Nehru in the pithambaram and handed him the golden sceptre.

The event had negligible afterlife in the social sphere and it would enter public discourse, only upon its usage by Narendra Modi, the incumbent prime minister of India, in the inauguration of the New Parliament in 2023; until then, the Sengol was housed in Allahabad Museum, labelled as a 'Golden Stick gifted to Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru' and later in National Museum, Delhi from 4 November, 2022.

Modi

At the inauguration of the new Parliament House, Modi installed the Sengol near the chair of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building. The installation was accompanied with Hindu prayers.

Simultaneously, the government of India propagated a narrative that claimed the Sengol as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British regime into the hands of the Indians. It was sourced in toto from an article by Swaminathan Gurumurthy, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue who, in turn, had attributed it to the recollections of Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi, the 68th head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, as told to a disciple in 1978. The rough description went as follows — Jawaharlal Nehru upon being enquired by Lord Mountbatten about such a symbol on the eve of independence, discussed the issue with his fellow Congress leader C. Rajagopalachari; Rajagopalachari apprised him of the Chola tradition of the transfer of the Sengol and upon Nehru's agreement, approached the seer of Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam Matha to make one. This would be presented by a delegation that flew to Delhi in a special plane, to Mountbatten followed by Nehru in an official ceremony.

These claims are inaccurate. There is no evidence to suggest that either Mountbatten or Rajagopalachari was involved in the process or that the ceremony had any official significance or that Nehru perceived the event as a transfer-of-power or even, that the delegation went by flight. C. N. Annadurai, writing for Dravida Nadu, less than a fortnight after the gift of the Sengol to Nehru, had warned about the socio-political implications of Nehru's acceptance, and foresaw that among the motives of the seers was to convince the public, years hence, that it was them who had coronated the new government. Upon criticism by Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) marshalled a collection of sources — from monographs by Perry Anderson to blogs — as evidence in support of the narrative; however, they did not support any part of its narrative.

Design

Sengol is a gold-plated sceptre, about 5 feet (1.5 m) in length. It has a Nandi carved on the top.

Criticism

Some political analysts have noted that Sengol is a symbol of divine power appropriate for a monarchy; that does not belong in a Parliament of a democracy. Further, others have noted that Sengol is an attempt to legitimize Hindu symbolism by the BJP.

According to The New York Times, during the inauguration of the new Indian Parliament, this sceptre emerged as a key object encapsulating the meaning of the new Parliament - "to shed not just the remnants of India's colonial past, but also increasingly to replace the secular governance that followed it."

See also

• New Parliament House
• Ceremonial mace

Reference

1. "Inspired by the Cholas, handed over to Nehru: historic 'Sengol' to be installed in new Parliament building". The Hindu. 24 May 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
2. ^ "The Many Holes in the Union Government's Claims Around the Sengol". The Wire. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
3. ^ "Sengol | Evidence thin on government's claims about the sceptre". The Hindu. 25 May 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
4. ^ "Manu S Pillai on Sengol: For some, rediscovery is cultural renascence, for others, political Hinduisation of a national symbol". The Indian Express. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
5. ^ "Fact-Check: The Sengol Was Never Labelled 'Walking Stick', Nor Kept in Anand Bhawan". The Wire. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
6. ^ "Modi Opens India's New Parliament Building as Opposition Boycotts". New York Times.
7. ^ "Mutt's tryst with destiny 15 minutes before freedom". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
8. "A royal symbol accompanied by so much fakery?". English.Mathrubhumi. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
9. "1947 'sengol' story just fiction based on manufactured lies: N. Ram". frontline.thehindu.com. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
10. "Annadurai Cautioned the 1947 Govt and Nehru About the Motives Behind the 'Gift' of the Sengol". The Wire. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
11. Staff, Scroll (26 May 2023). "Government docket to journalists on sengol authenticity includes column titled 'WhatsApp History'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
12. "New Parliament: What Is The Significance Of Sengol In Rs 20,000 Crore-Worth Central Vista Project?".
13. "INDIA: Oh Lovely Dawn". Time. 25 August 1947. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
14. "New Parliament building opening | How a letter to PMO set off a search for the Sengol". The Hindu. 24 May 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
15. அகஸ்டஸ் (25 May 2023). "நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் செங்கோல்; இதற்கும் சோழர்களுக்கும் என்ன தொடர்பு? - தரவுகளுடன் விரிவான அலசல்". www.vikatan.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 25 May 2023.
16. "The Sengol Is a Symbol of 'Divine Right' to Power". The Wire. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
17. "New Parliament building seeks to legitimise Hindutva victory over India's multicultural past". Scroll. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.

External links

• Media related to Sengol at Wikimedia Commons

• Formal insignia