India: As the new Parliament building is nearing its launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to keep Tamil Nadu’s historic sceptre, the ‘Sengol’, at the upcoming Parliament House which is located in Delhi. As per reports, he will be inaugurating the building on 28 May, 2023 informed Home Minister Amit Shah on 24 May.
‘Sengol’ has a big history and comes with lots of power as it was given by Lord Mountbatten to first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. It was given as a symbol of transfer of power from the British government to the then Prime Minister of India. However, it was later kept in a museum located in Allahabad.
About the sengol and the aim behind installing it
The aim behind installing it in the new parliament building is to remind the people of India about this historic event. It is a matter of pride for every Indian said Amit Shah. The golden sceptre was crafted by Vummidi Bangaru Chetty who was a well known jeweller in the Madras Presidency. The two men who created the sengol still live in Chennai. Their names are Vummidi Ethirajulu and Vummidi Sudhakar and are 96 year old and 88 year old respectively. After the creation, a ceremony was performed as per Tamil tradition to hand over the Sengol to Nehru at his home
What had happened?
At the time when the power was being transferred the then Viceroy Lord Mountbatten had put infront of the to-be Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru a question. He asked “What is the ceremony that should be performed to symbolise the transfer of power from British to Indian hands?”. To seek the answer of which Nehru then consulted C. Rajagopalachari, commonly known as Rajaji, who identified the Chola model in which transfer of power from one king to next is done and then is blessed by a high ruler. What they used to do was hand over the ‘Senegol’ or scepter to the next king.
On the other hand, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the new parliamentary building, many opposition parties have denied to attend the ceremony saying that it should be done by President Draupadi Murmu and not Prime minister.
