Jump to content

The Sengol

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by RogerYg (talk | contribs) at 19:46, 2 September 2023 (→‎Debate: Wiki link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Sengol at India's new Parliament

Sengol (IAST: ceṅkōl) is a gold-plated silver sceptre that is currently installed in India's New Parliament House.[1] It was originally gifted to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, by holy men from an Adheenam in Tamil Nadu on 14 August 1947 and was housed in the Allahabad Museum for seven decades. On 8 May 2023, a group of Tamil Adheenam priests again performed a sacred ceremony, before handing the Sengol to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who placed it in the new Parliament House.[2][3]

History

Just before the Independence of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and other members of the Indian National Congress took part in religious ceremonies and received gifts.[4][5][1] On such an occasion, on 14 August, Nehru was presented with the Sengol by emissaries from the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam Matha, a Hindu monastery in Tamil Nadu, at his home.[5][1][4]

From Tanjore in south India came two emissaries of Sri Amblavana Designer, 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 public discourse at the time.[6][1] The Sengol and other belongings of Nehru were donated to the Allahabad Museum, where it was erroneously labelled, as "Golden Walking Stick"[7] or "Golden Stick".[8] It would remain largely forgotten until the inauguration of the New Parliament House in 2023.[6]

At the inauguration of the new Parliament House, Narendra Modi installed the Sengol near the chair of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, accompanied by Hindu priests who head 20 Adheenams (monastries) in Tamil Nadu, and prayers.[9][10][11]

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

The government of India in 2023 claimed the Sengol was a symbol of the transfer of power from the British regime into the hands of the Indians.[4] This narrative seems to have been derived from an article by Swaminathan Gurumurthy, a Hindu nationalist, published in Thuglak magazine on 5th May 2021.[1][12] Gurumurthy attributed the narrative to the recollections of Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi, the 68th head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, as told to a disciple in 1978.[1]

A summary of this government narrative is as follows. Jawaharlal Nehru was asked by Lord Mountbatten about a symbol to mark transfer of power. Nehru discussed the issue with his fellow Congress leader Rajagopalachari.[4][1][13] Rajagopalachari informed him of the Chola tradition of the transfer of the Sengol and with Nehru's agreement, approached the seer of Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam Matha to make one.[4][1][13] The Sengol was presented, by a delegation that flew to Delhi, first to Mountbatten. Mountbatten then sent it to Nehru via the delegation in an official ceremony.[4][1][13]

These claims are inaccurate.[4][1][6] There was no evidence found 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.[4][1][14]

Electoral politics

Though the ruling BJP party has limited presence in South India, the party is aiming to expand electorarly in southern states such as Tamil Nadu in the 2024 elections, part of its 'Look South' campaign.[15][16][17] To appeal to Tamil voters, analysts note the BJP has adopted a strategy to present itself as champions of Tamil culture.[16][11] Giving the Sengol, a Tamil symbol, and Tamil Adheenam priests a central role at new Parliament inauguration is believed to be part of this strategy.[11] Soon after the Sengol installation, Amit Shah, the Home Minister, considered to be one of BJP's main strategists,[18] asked Tamil voters to elect 25 BJP coalition MPs, as a show of gratitude to the prime minister.[19]

Design

Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, a jeweler from Chennai, crafted the sengol.[20] 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.[20][21][5][22][23]

Debate

Some political analysts claim that since historically, Sengol symbolized the coronation of Tamil Kings by high priests,[24] it is a sign of monarchy that does not belong in a Parliament of a democracy.[25]

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."[9]

See also

Reference

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Sengol | Evidence thin on government's claims about the sceptre". The Hindu. 25 May 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Historic 'Sengol' installed in new Parliament building by PM Modi". 28 May 2023.
  3. ^ Poulomi Saha (24 May 2023). "Sacred ritual steeped in Tamil culture: How PM Modi will install Sengol in new Parliament building". www.indiatoday.in. New Delhi: India Today. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b c "INDIA: Oh Lovely Dawn". Time. 25 August 1947. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  6. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. ^ "The Sengol saga: Lost as Nehru's 'golden walking stick', how the historic sceptre was rediscovered". India Today. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Fact-Check: The Sengol Was Never Labelled 'Walking Stick', Nor Kept in Anand Bhawan". The Wire. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Modi Opens India's New Parliament Building as Opposition Boycotts". New York Times.
  10. ^ Video of Sengol installed in new Parliament building, retrieved 14 August 2023
  11. ^ a b c Nath, Akshaya (3 June 2023). "Sengol puts focus on Tamil Nadu's Adheenams. Wings clipped by Dravidian politics, now courted by BJP". ThePrint. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Criticism of the historicity of Sengol is baseless". The Indian Express. 2 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  13. ^ a b c "Government of India Dedicated Website to the Sengol". sengol1947ignca.in. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  14. ^ "1947 'sengol' story just fiction based on manufactured lies: N. Ram". frontline.thehindu.com. 31 May 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Nationally dominant, BJP prepares for southern march". The Times of India. 10 July 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  16. ^ a b Rajagopalan, R. (21 November 2022). "Modi's Tamil-Varanasi outreach is BJP's 'Look South' strategy. Fort DMK better watch out". ThePrint. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  17. ^ "In Tamil Nadu, BJP's strategic moves". The Hindu. 8 August 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022.
  18. ^ See:
  19. ^ "T.N. should elect over 25 NDA MPs as thanks for Sengol installation: Amit Shah". The Hindu. 11 June 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Why a historic 'sengol' is being installed in new Parliament building & how it was made". ThePrint. 24 May 2023.
  21. ^ "New Parliament: What Is The Significance Of Sengol In Rs 20,000 Crore-Worth Central Vista Project?".
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ அகஸ்டஸ் (25 May 2023). "நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் செங்கோல்; இதற்கும் சோழர்களுக்கும் என்ன தொடர்பு? - தரவுகளுடன் விரிவான அலசல்". www.vikatan.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  24. ^ "The Sengol — A historic sceptre with a deep Tamil Nadu connection". The Hindu. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  25. ^ "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
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Sengol&oldid=1173492059"