SENGOL & ITS CONTROVERSY

SENGOL & ITS CONTROVERSY

CONTEXT :

  • The Sengol which was used as a symbolic transfer of power from the British to Indians is now installed in the new Parliament.

WHAT IS SENGOL ?

  • Sengol is the Tamil word for sceptre which in medieval and pre­medieval times used to be presented to the kings during their coronation by the high priests.
  • The word sengol in Tamil is derived from the word semmai denoting righteousness.
  • The recipient of the sengol is supposed to have the command to rule fairly and justly.
  • The timeless treasure trove of wisdom, the Thirukkural has an entire chapter — The Right Sceptre — comprising 10 couplets.
  • As Couplet 546 says, “Not lance gives kings the victory/ But sceptre swayed with equity”.
  • In 1947, during the time of transfer of power from the British to India, it was purportedly used as a symbolic gesture to show a ceremonial transfer of power from the British to Indians.
  • The Thiruvavuduthurai Adheenam, one of the oldest Shaivite institutions, officiated the ceremony.
  • Chennai ­based jewellers Vummidi Bangaru Chetty and Sons had made the Sengol in 1947.
  • It was later kept in a museum in Allahabad.

PRESENT POSITION OF SENGOL

  • Centre government is keen to install the Sengol next to the Speaker’s chair in the new Parliament building.
  • Prime Minister Narendra during the inauguration carried the Sengol in a procession amid tunes of Nagaswaram and chanting of Vedic mantras to the new Parliament building.
  • With installing it in a special enclosure on the right side of the Speaker’s chair in the Lok Sabha chamber.

HISTORY OF SENGOL

  • According to reports, Lord Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy of India, asked Jawaharlal Nehru on the ceremonial aspects of the formal transfer of power from the British to the Indians.
  • Rajaji (C Rajagopalachari) is reported to have advised Nehru on this ceremonial transfer power tradition that existed in the medieval Tamil kingdoms.
  • There is documented evidence of this practice of during the Sangam era.
  • It is also recorded even during the Chola period in the medieval era.
  • According to reports, on August 14, 1947, the Deputy High Priest of the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam Nagaswaram player Rajaratnam Pillai and a traditional temple singer (Oduvar) took the Sengol and presented it to Lord Mountbatten.
  • It was taken back from him and purified with holy water from the river Ganga and taken to Nehru’s residence in a procession and handed to him marking the symbolic transfer of power from the British to the Indians.

  • A special song was also rendered on the occasion.

RECENT CONTROVERSY REGARDING SENGOL

  • There has been enormous political controversy surrounding the “Sengol issue” between the Congress and the BJP.
  • This of course has to be seen in the larger context of the Opposition parties’ boycott of the inauguration of the new Parliament building on Sunday.
  • According to the Opposition parties, it is the President of India who should be inaugurating the new Parliament building and not the Prime Minister.
  • The latest salvo on the “Sengol issue” was fired by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who claimed on Friday that there is no documented evidence of the Sengol being handed by the British to Nehru on the eve of Independence, dubbing all such claims “bogus”.
  • The BJP immediately hit back with Home Minister Amit Shah calling the Opposition remarks as “shameful insult” and having derided the country’s culture.
  • He also marked that sceptre presented by the Adheenam was reduced to a walking stick.
  • The Adheenam has also refuted the Congress claims saying that it was a well documented fact that they had been invited by Rajaji to conduct ceremonial transfer of power in 1947.
  • The mutt has said that it is pained by the remarks of “people of certain political parties”.

SIGNIFICANCE OF NEW STEP OF GOVERNMENT TO INSTALL SENGOL

  • Sengol is considered to be the symbol of justice, transfer of power, and good governance.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to adopt it as a national symbol of the Amrit Kaal according to the Press Information Bureau.
  • The politics surrounding the Sengol can also be seen in the context of the BJP’s political outreach in Tamil Nadu, a State where it is working very hard to make inroads in the run­up of next year’s general elections.
  • It can be seen as a continuation of the Kashi-­Tamil Sangamam event held last year.
  • The sangam where the cultural, religious and civilisational links between the North and South were showcased.

SYLLABUS : MAINS, CURRENT AFFAIRS

SOURCE : THE HINDU

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