PM Modi To Install The Sengol in New Parliament Building
Do you know what a Sengol is? This historic figure is going to be established in our new Parliament. Here are the details!
PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new parliament building on 10th December 2020. Now finally the new parliament building is ready. Tata Projects Limited is the contractor for the construction of the new parliament building. The total cost of the construction is ?1,250 crores.
The old parliament house was inaugurated in January 1927 by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker. It was even before India got independence! Now after 96 years, India has a new parliament building and this is moment of pride in India. The government has planned a lavish inaugural ceremony which will be held on Sunday 28 May 2023.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met PM Modi last 18th May 2023 (Thursday) inviting him to inaugurate the New Parliament Building.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the upcoming inauguration of the new parliament building will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi install a historic sceptre known as a ‘Sengol’ next to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s seat.
What is Sengol and why is it so important?
The word Sengol — is derived from the Tamil word “Semmai” which means “Righteousness”.
In 1947 when India got Independence from the British, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, asked Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru (he would be becoming the PM of India) about “the ceremony that should be followed to symbolise the transfer of power from British to India.” Nehru then went to consult C Rajagopalachari, the last Governor-General of India.
C Rajagopalachari then told him about a ceremony performed during the Chola Dynasty. During the Chola dynasty era, kings used to hand over "Sengol" to their successors, symbolizing the transfer of power. The golden specter was then handed over to Nehru at his residence in New Delhi on 14 August 1947. It was a sign of a shift of power from Britishers to the people of our country.
The ceremony was conducted by the deputy high priest of Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam, a 500-year-old Saivaite monastery and a person who sang divine songs in Tamil temples. The "Sengol" was kept at the Allahabad Museum in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj all these years. The “sengol” is five feet long staff with its top adorned by Nandi, a divine bull and vehicle of Lord Shiva. Nandi represents fairness and justice. It is gold-plated, weighs about 800 grams, and is five feet in height.
It was constructed by two men — Vummidi Ethirajulu and Vummidi Sudhakar, both are still alive and remember making it. It was made in Tamil Nadu. On 28 May during the inauguration of the new Parliament building, the Sengol will be ceremoniously transported to the new Parliament building in a grand procession.
Leading the procession will be a group of musicians playing the Nadaswaram, a classical instrument from Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to walk alongside these musicians, embracing the essence of the Tamil culture.
Following this sacred ritual, the Sengol will be handed over to PM Modi, who will install the historic sceptre within a glass case next to the Speaker's seat in the new Parliament building. Amit Shah said whenever any change happens, specially in the government, only signing documents is not enough. We must follow our old Indian traditions. We are placing the Sengol in the Lok Sabha to follow our culture.
Now a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court saying the new parliament must be inaugrated by the President Droupadi Murmu and not PM Modi.
The petition has been filed by Advocate CR Jaya Sukin.
The petition said, ‘Parliament is the supreme legislative body of India. The President is an integral part of the Parliament. Why was the President kept away from the foundation stone laying ceremony? The constitution has given our President so much power. Now the President is not invited to the inauguration ceremony. This decision of the government is not appropriate.’ The Supreme Court will announce their judgement on the PIL.
