‘Sengol’ moved to Delhi for installation in new Parl building
NEW DELHI: The ceremonial sceptre ‘Sengol’ that was given to first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to symbolise the transfer of power in August 1947 was kept in the Nehru Gallery of the Allahabad Museum and has been moved to Delhi for its installation in the new building of Parliament, official sources said on Wednesday.
Made of silver with a coat of gold, the historical sceptre will be installed near the chair of the Lok Sabha Speaker on May 28, the same day the new Parliament building will be dedicated to the nation by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a press conference here, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Sengol symbolises the transfer of power from British to India, just as it was originally used to mark the handing over power from one king to another during the Chola dynasty in Tamil Nadu.
He later also launched a website sengol1947ignca.in which has background information on its significance, along with short documentaries. A small film on Sengol and the transfer of power, based on media reports of that time, was also played during the press conference.
“Our government is of the opinion that keeping this sacred ‘Sengol’ in a museum is inappropriate. For installation of the ‘Sengol’, no other place can be more suitable, sacred and appropriate than the building of Parliament,” he told reporters.
So, when the new Parliament building will be dedicated to the nation, on the same day, Modi, with a lot of humility, will accept the Sengol from an Adheenum from Tamil Nadu, and “with a lot of respect, will place it near the chair of the Lok Sabha Speaker”, Shah said. The Adheenams a non-brahmin Saivite order date back over five hundred years. The transfer of power during Chola times was sanctified by Saivite high priests. C Rajagopalachari had then requested the leader of the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam in Tamil Nadu (then Madras Presidency) to do the same, for power to pass on to Indian hands from the British, according to information provided on the new website.
The leader of the Adheenam immediately commissioned jeweller Vummidi Bangaru Chetty for the preparation of the ‘Sengol’ (five feet in length). The official website of Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers, mentions about the sceptre and also carries a rare photograph of Nehru that is also featured in the short film on Sengol.