What is the ‘sengol’, that will be installed inside the new Parliament?
The sengol is a sceptre, which was a symbol of the rulers of the Chola Empire. A gold-plated silver replica was made in 1947 by a well-known Tamil Nadu-based jeweller, which was handed over to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as a symbol of the transfer of power to India. Kept at the Nehru Gallery of the Allahabad Museum till now, it will be placed beside the Lok Sabha speaker’s seat in the new Parliament building.
Home Minister Amit Shah recently announced at a press conference that the ‘sengol’, a “significant” historical symbol of Independence that signifies the transfer of power from the Britishers to the Indians, will be installed inside the new Parliament building. It would be placed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi beside the Lok Sabha speaker’s seat.
Explaining its historical significance, Shah said, “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru accepted the sengol at around 10.45 pm on August 14, 1947, through the adheenams (priests) of Tamil Nadu, which was a sign of the shifting of power from the Britishers to the people of our country.” It has been kept in the Nehru Gallery of the Allahabad Museum till now.
The adheenams (Priests) of the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam (Mutt) in Tamil Nadu had specially arrived in Delhi for the occasion.
The sengol was chosen as the sceptre was associated with the Chola kings, whose Chola Empire was one of the greatest empires of the ancient world and India’s first maritime empire.
The one handed over to Nehru was made in 1947 by Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers of Tamil Nadu. “It is made of silver and gold-plated,” Vummidi Sudhakar, great-grandson of Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, under whose direction the sengol was made, told Hindustan Times.
The word ‘sengol’ is derived from the Tamil word ‘semmai’, meaning ‘righteousness’, according to an official document on the new Parliament building.
