Left lobby accused by Assam CM of disrespecting “Sengol”
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has charged that the Left disrespected Hindu traditions by relegating the “Sengol,” a five-foot-long sceptre that would be placed close to the Speaker’s seat in the new Parliament.
The Left lobby has come under fire from CM Sarma for referring to the ‘Sengol’ as a dull ‘walking stick’.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “The Sengol was integral to our Independence but the Left relegated it as a nondescript ‘walking stick’ in a museum corner despite Pt Nehru’s crucial role. Another instance of how an entire eco-system censored any event in history that glorified ancient Bharat and Hindu rituals,”
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was presented with the historic sceptre “Sengol” on August 14, 1947, as a sign of the handover of authority from the British to the Indians.
The Madurai Adheenam chief priest will present the same spectre to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (May 28).
This Sengol is noteworthy because it was the same one that Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister, accepted at his home on the evening of August 14 in front of a number of influential people.
Recalling the entire event that took place on the occasion of India’s independence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Even after 75 years of independence, most of the people in India are not aware of this event in which India’s transfer of power took place through handing over of Sengol to Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. It was a special occasion on the night of August 14, 1947, celebrating India’s independence. On this night Jawaharlal Nehru received the ‘Sengol’ from the Adheenams (Priests) of the ThiruvaduthuraiAdheenam (Mutt) in Tamil Nadu, who had specially arrived for the occasion. It was precisely the moment in which power was transferred by the British into the hands of Indians. What we are celebrating as independence is actually marked by the very moment of handing over the ‘Sengol’.”
PM Modi decided to designate the Sengol as the Amrit Kaal’s official national symbol. The exact identical event will take place in the new Parliament building, with Adheenam (priests) performing the ritual again and vesting the PM with the Sengol.
The Prime Minister will place the same Sengol from 1947 prominently close to the Speaker’s podium in the Lok Sabha. It will be put on displayed in public and brought out on significant events.
The founding of “Sengol” immortalises the spirit of August 15, 1947. It represents the promise of limitless optimism, limitless potential, and a will to create a powerful and affluent country.