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The Sengol

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Sengol at India's new Parliament

Sengol (IAST: ceṅkōl) is a gold-plated silver sceptre that is installed in India's New Parliament House.[1] Originally gifted to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, by a delegation of holy men on 14 August 1947, the sceptre was housed in the Allahabad Museum for seven decades.[2] In 2023, the sceptre was moved to the newly-constructed Parliament House by the incumbent Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi, who propagated an ahistorical narrative by claiming the Sengol as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British regime unto Indians.[3][4]

History

Nehru

As the Independence of India drew near, Jawaharlal Nehru and other members of the Indian National Congress took part in many religious ceremonies and received gifts.[3][4] On one such occasion, on 14 August, Nehru was presented with the Sengol by emissaries from the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam Matha at his home.[3][4]

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.

— INDIA: Oh Lovely Dawn, Time, 25 August 1947.

The event had negligible impact on contemporary discourse;[5] detailed coverage was scarce except for an article by C. N. Annadurai who warned of the socio-political implications of Nehru's acceptance and argued that among the motive of the priests was to convince the public, years thence, that they had inaugurated the new government.[6] Sometime soon, the sengol and other belongings of nehru were donated to the Allahabad Museum, where it was labelled as a 'Golden Stick gifted to Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru'; it would have no afterlife in the social sphere until its usage by Narendra Modi, the incumbent prime minister of India, in the inauguration of the New Parliament in 2023.[2][5]

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.[2] The installation was accompanied with Hindu prayers.[7]

PM Modi receiving 'Sengol' from Hindu (Adheenam) priests in 2023

Simultaneously, the Government of India propagated a narrative — including by a film — that claimed the Sengol as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British regime into the hands of the Indians.[3] 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.[4] 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.[3][8] This would be presented by a delegation that flew to Delhi in a special plane, to Mountbatten followed by Nehru in an official ceremony.[3][8]

These claims are inaccurate.[3][4][5] There is no evidence to suggest that either Mountbatten or Rajagopalachari was involved in the process, that the ceremony had any official significance, that Nehru perceived the event as a transfer-of-power or that the delegation went by flight.[3][4][9] Upon criticism by Indian National Congress, the ruling party 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 of the claims.[10]

Design

Sengol is a handcrafted gold-plated sceptre, about 5 feet (1.5 m) in length, with a diameter of about 3 inches (76 mm) at the top and 1 inch (25 mm) at the bottom. Encasing a wooden staff, it is surmounted by a sitting Nandi to symbolise justice and sturdiness.[11][12][13][14][15] The sengol was crafted by Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, a jeweler from Chennai.[11]

Criticism

Some political analysts note that since historically, Sengol symbolized the coronation of Tamil Kings by high priests,[16] it is a sign of monarchy that does not belong in a Parliament of a democracy.[17]

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."[7]

See also

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. ^ a b c "Fact-Check: The Sengol Was Never Labelled 'Walking Stick', Nor Kept in Anand Bhawan". The Wire. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "The Many Holes in the Union Government's Claims Around the Sengol". The Wire. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Sengol | Evidence thin on government's claims about the sceptre". The Hindu. 25 May 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "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.
  6. ^ "Annadurai Cautioned the 1947 Govt and Nehru About the Motives Behind the 'Gift' of the Sengol". The Wire. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Modi Opens India's New Parliament Building as Opposition Boycotts". New York Times.
  8. ^ a b "Mutt's tryst with destiny 15 minutes before freedom". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  9. ^ "1947 'sengol' story just fiction based on manufactured lies: N. Ram". frontline.thehindu.com. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  10. ^ Staff, Scroll (26 May 2023). "Government docket to journalists on sengol authenticity includes column titled 'WhatsApp History'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Why a historic 'sengol' is being installed in new Parliament building & how it was made". ThePrint. 24 May 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 — A historic sceptre with a deep Tamil Nadu connection". The Hindu. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  17. ^ "The Sengol Is a Symbol of 'Divine Right' to Power". The Wire. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  • Media related to Sengol at Wikimedia Commons
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