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The Sengol

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jagmanst (talk | contribs) at 04:00, 12 September 2023 (→‎History: The scroll source only discusses the claim that the sengol represented the transfer of power. It doesn't discuss all other claims made by govt.). 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 an Adheenam in Tamil Nadu on 14 August 1947 and was housed in the Allahabad Museum for seven decades. It was moved in 2023 to the New Parliament House at its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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.[2][3][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.[3][1][2]

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.[4][1] The Sengol and other belongings of Nehru were donated to the Allahabad Museum, where it was erroneously labelled, as "Golden Walking Stick".[5] It would remain largely forgotten until the inauguration of the New Parliament House in 2023.[4]

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.[6][7][8]

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

The government of India in 2023 claimed[9] the Sengol was a symbol of the transfer of power from the British regime into the hands of the Indians.[2] 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][10] 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.[2][1][11] 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.[2][1][11] 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.[2][1][11]

These claims are inaccurate.[2][1][4] No evidence suggests 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 that the delegation went by flight.[2][1][12]

In response to criticism, the ruling BJP party published a collection of sources — which included work of a historian, Perry Anderson, and anonymous blogs — as evidence for their claim that the Sengol was used to represent the transfer of power from the British to Indians. However, these sources do not support this claim.[13]

Electoral context

According to analysts, the episode with the Sengol in 2023 was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's strategy to present itself as champions of Tamil culture.[14][8] The party is aiming to gain electoral significance in south India through its 'Look South' campaign.[15][14][16] Soon after the Sengol's installation, Amit Shah, one of BJP's main strategists,[17] asked Tamil voters to elect 25 BJP coalition legislators to the parliament, as a show of gratitude.[18]

Design

Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, a jeweler from Chennai, crafted the sengol.[19] 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.[19][20][3][21][22]

Reception

Soon after the original gift to Nehru, C. N. Annadurai, the future first chief minister of Tamil Nadu, wrote in the, Dravida Nadu, on the socio-political implications of Nehru's acceptance of the Sengol. He warned that the motive of the Adheenam was to later convince the public that they had inaugurated the new government.[23]

Many noted the increasing penetration of Hindu grammar into the domains of the state. According to The New York Times, the sceptre was "to shed not just the remnants of India's colonial past, but also increasingly to replace the secular governance that followed it."[24] Others found the very usage of a monarchical relic as unsuitable for a parliamentary democracy.[25]

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. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "The Sengol saga: Lost as Nehru's 'golden walking stick', how the historic sceptre was rediscovered". India Today. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Modi Opens India's New Parliament Building as Opposition Boycotts". New York Times.
  7. ^ Video of Sengol installed in new Parliament building, retrieved 14 August 2023
  8. ^ a b 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.
  9. ^ See Government of India's dedicated website for the Sengol for its discredited narrative: https://sengol1947ignca.in/
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ a b c "Government of India Dedicated Website to the Sengol". sengol1947ignca.in. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ Staff, Scroll (26 May 2023). "Government docket to journalists on sengol authenticity includes column titled 'WhatsApp History'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Nationally dominant, BJP prepares for southern march". The Times of India. 10 July 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  16. ^ "In Tamil Nadu, BJP's strategic moves". The Hindu. 8 August 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022.
  17. ^ See:
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ a b "Why a historic 'sengol' is being installed in new Parliament building & how it was made". ThePrint. 24 May 2023.
  20. ^ "New Parliament: What Is The Significance Of Sengol In Rs 20,000 Crore-Worth Central Vista Project?".
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ அகஸ்டஸ் (25 May 2023). "நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் செங்கோல்; இதற்கும் சோழர்களுக்கும் என்ன தொடர்பு? - தரவுகளுடன் விரிவான அலசல்". www.vikatan.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Annadurai Cautioned the 1947 Govt and Nehru About the Motives Behind the 'Gift' of the Sengol". The Wire. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Modi Opens India's New Parliament Building as Opposition Boycotts". New York Times.
  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
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