New Delhi, May 28.
The new Parliament building built at a cost of Rs 1200 crore was inaugurated on Sunday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi amidst boycott of over 20 Opposition parties as May 28 coincided with birthday of Veer Savarkar, the proponent of Hindu nationalism.
Congress and other Opposition parties boycotted the inauguration event as they wanted the President of India Droupadi Murmu, the first tribal woman to inaugurate the new Parliament.
The new Parliament has a capacity of 888 seats in Lok Sabha (present capacity 543) and 384 seats in Rajya Sabha (presently 250) and a Central lounge.
To mark the inauguration, Modi installed in Lok Sabha near Speaker’s podium, a sacred golden Sengol (5 feet scepter) presented to Jawaharlal Nehu on the night of August 14, 1947, signifying the transfer of power from Britain to independent India.
Sengol denotes righteousness and has no legal significance. Whoever comes to power should abide by that. It is similar to the blind-folded dharmadevatha statue in court. On Sunday a havan was performed at the entrance of the new Parliament.
After religious sanctification, the Sengol was handed over to the PM by a group of Adheenams (seers from Tamil Nadu), who then placed it in a specially-designed box near the Speaker’s podium amidst chanting of the Thevaram song highlighting the important aspects a ruler must keep in mind.
It was followed by prayers from heads of all religions. The Sengol has played an important role in the history of our nation, Amit Shah said. After India received the golden sceptre, the Chola dynasty artefact was taken to the Constituent Assembly Hall in a procession.
The one accorded the Sengol is expected to impart a just and impartial rule. It would have been good if the holy Sengol would have been given its due respect after independence and given an honourable position.
But this Sengol was kept on display as a walking stick in Anand Bhawan, Prayagraj, PM Modi said after meeting the Adheenams at his Delhi home on Saturday and taking their blessings.
The Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam, one of the oldest (almost 500 years) Shaivite mutts in the country, had commissioned the Sengol after C. Rajagopalachari suggested to Nehru the ceremonial gesture that has roots in the Sangam era and has been documented by writers during the Chola period as a symbol of the transfer of power to a new king.
The golden sceptre was made by Vummidi Bangaru Chetti and Sons, jeweller and diamond merchants based in Chennai. Nearly 60 religious heads were called for the event, many of whom were from Tamil Nadu. Adheenams or mutts of Tamil Nadu have a history of resisting upper caste domination, and are known for taking religion to the masses. Many of them are over several hundred years old.
The new Parliament building inauguration rewinds our minds to August 14/15, 1947, with the image and sound of Indian Independence flashing and ringing to generate a nationalist mood to cherish the birth of independent India.
This report in the Time in August, 1947, narrates in great detail the handing over of the Sengol in a proper Hindu religious ceremony and the havan at the home of Dr Rajendra Prasad. But Indian historians only wrote about the “tryst of the destiny” speech, completely ignoring the Hindu ceremony.
As the preparations for India’s Independence were being made, Nehru turned to scholar-statesman Rajagopalachariar (fondly called Rajaji) for advice regarding the transfer of a power instrument.
It was Rajaji who proposed the idea of handing over the Sengol, specially made by the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam, to be presented to Nehru to symbolize the transfer of power proceedings.
Tamil Nadu’s Sangam literature, culture, arts etc. have all been fostered and encouraged by the royal kingdoms of Chera, Chola and Pandya besides other social institutions and individuals. The institutions and identities that the royal Tamil kings created during their rules are still speaking symbols of eternal values.
Not only the kings but also their Rajagurus, poets, scholars, musicians etc were all perennial fountainheads of Tamil knowledge with global reach.
How the Sengol came to light
A few months after foundation was laid for new Parliament in 2020, Dr Padma Subramanyam a renowned dancer in Chennai wrote a letter to Modi enclosing a copy of an article in Tamil magazine Thuglak (translated in English) about Sengol that was presented to Pandit Nehru in August 1947 signifying transfer of power.
She said in her letter that not much was known about this to the public despite being an extraordinary historic event. She requested the PM to re-enact the historic event as the country was celebrating 75 years of Independence.
Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman, who gave this information, said that the government consulted various experts and traced the Sengol to a museum in Allahabad where it was displayed as a golden walking stick presented to Nehru.
The Adheenam responsible for the making of the Sengol confirmed that it was presented to Lord Mountbatten first, taken back from him and then presented to Nehru. It was then decided to install it in the new Parliament building, she added.
The Congress party refuted that Sengol signified transfer of power and there was no recorded history on this issue and dismissed all claims as bogus. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the Prime Minister and his drum-beaters are using the scepter for their political ends in Tamil Nadu.
The Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam said that there is documentary evidence in the Mutt about the importance of Sengol as a transfer of power for several centuries in Chola and other dynasties.
The Mutt released 1947 photos from its souvenirs on handing over the scepter to Nehru by the Mutt representative. It is sad that what should have been a matter of pride and national honor was marred by controversy.
