New Delhi: The golden ‘Sengol’, which marked the symbol of the transfer of power from the British to India in 1947, will be installed at the new Parliament building to be inaugurated on May 28 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is a golden sceptre adorned with a ‘nandi’ (bull) on top, made from silver with gold plating. It was transferred to the national capital from Allahabad Museum on November 4, 2022, and will be kept as a legacy in the new Parliament building.
The Sengol was designed and created through the collective effort of ‘Adheenams’ (priests from Shaivite mutts in Tamil Nadu) and Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers. Vummidi Sudhakar, one of the makers of the historical artefact, told news agency ANI that he was only 14 years old when he made the Sengol along with his elder brother Vummidi Ethirajulu, who is now 97 years old. “He is the one who directed all the work. We didn’t know it was going to be making history after 75 years.”
PM Modi will install the ‘Sengol’, a national symbol of the Amrit Kaal, in the Lok Sabha closer to the Speaker’s podium. It will ceremoniously transported to the new parliament building in a grand procession. The occasion will be steeped in Tamil tradition. Adheenams or priests of Shaivite mutts will be present and purify the ‘Sengol’ with holy water, reports said.
It was classical dancer Padma Subrahmanyam, who wrote to the PMO in 2021, translating a Tamil article on it and emphasising as to why the Sengol should be widely publicised. “I am the one who has been writing a history of culture, I didn’t know about the Sengol episode in our history because no textbook has any reference to it. I thought Sengol had to be publicised. So I translated the entire Tughlaq article into English and wrote a covering letter to the Prime Minister stating that the Sengol must be brought out. This is how the whole thing started,” she told ANI.
Everything you need to know about the historic ‘Sengol’:
>> The golden sceptre was first received by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to represent the transfer of power by the British. A Priest gave the sceptre to Lord Mountbatten and then took it back. It was then taken in a procession to the PM’s house and handed over to him.
>> Sengol is derived from Tamil word ‘Semmai’ meaning ‘righteousness’.
>> It is a significant historical symbol of independence
>> It measures 5 feet in length
>> The ‘nandi bull’ on top symbolises justice
