On Sunday, May 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi installed ‘Sengol’ in the Lok Sabha chamber at the New Parliament Building amidst Vedic chants by the high priests of various adheenams (maths) in Tamil Nadu. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla accompanied PM Modi during the installation. The installation of Sengol took place before performing Puja.
Notably, this is the same Sengol that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accepted at his residence on the night of August 14 as a symbol of transfer of power. At the occasion, PM Modi was dressed in traditional attire. He entered the building from Gate No 1 where Speaker OM Birla welcomed him.
After entering the Parliament, PM Modi performed ‘Ganpati Homam’ to invoke the Gods. The ‘Sengol’ was consecrated by Adheenams before the much-awaited installation of the holy sceptre in the new Parliament building.
After installing the Sengol, he sought blessings from the high priests. Sengol has been installed in a special enclosure on the right side of the Speaker’s chair.
Apart from PM Modi and Speaker Om Birla, union ministers including Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar, Amit Shah, and Jitendra Singh along with several Chief Ministers and BJP President JP Nadda were present at the Lok Sabha chamber. The Prime Miniter also facilitated some workers who played key roles in the construction of the building.
Sengol was marked as a golden ‘walking stick’ kept as a ‘gift’ to Jawaharlal Nehru for decades
Sengol is a Tamil world, which means full of wealth. “This Sengol has huge significance. When PM Modi learned about this, he asked for more info on this,” Amit Shah said. He added, “August 14, 1945, around 10:45 Nehru accepted this Sengol from the people of Tamil Nadu. It is a sign of a shift of power from Britishers to the people of this country.”
Reportedly, when the British handed over power to Indians in 1947, the momentous occasion was symbolised by the handing over of a Sengol (sceptre) to the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru by the last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten through Hindu saints from Tamil Nadu.
The Sengol, a testament to India’s emergence as a new, sovereign independent nation, had languished in a museum in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh for nearly seven decades. The display box’s description tag read, “Golden walking stick given to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.”
