- Both Congress and BJP have no evidence that Mountbatten gave Nehru the same scepter as he himself claims. Congress has falsified the history of BJP and claimed that there is no documentary evidence, but where has it given the evidence that the scepter was given? Rather, Mountbatten did not even name the shrine where the scepter given to Nehru was made. Even the BJP considers the claims of Zveri or Thiruvaduthurai Adhinam who made Sengol as historical facts but cannot be considered as proof.
The inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building to be held on Sunday is in controversy because the opposition including the Congress is holding on to the insistence of President Draupadi Murmu's hand, but now the Congress has set up a new camp.
The Congress has termed as bogus the BJP's claim about the Sengol i.e. scepter to be permanently installed in the new Parliament building when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the new Parliament building on May 28.
The Congress says that the BJP is feeding the people in Tamil Nadu by creating fabricated stories for political gains. In fact, nothing happened as claimed by the BJP. As the BJP also entered the fray against the accusations of the Congress, the face-to-face accusations have started again. Before talking about who is right and who is wrong in this accusation, it is necessary to understand what Sengol is and what is its controversy. Regarding the Sengol i.e. the scepter representing the power of the new parliament, the Modi government has claimed that the Sengol is very important in Indian tradition and in the past, a king used to hand over power to his heir or someone else. It means that power has been transferred.
The Modi government has also claimed that Lord Mountbatten gave Sengol to Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, on the night of January 14, 1947, when India got independence. The Sengol was given to Nehru by the last Viceroy as a symbol of the British Government handing over power to the people of India. Amit Shah, on behalf of the Modi government, also narrated the so-called history of why Sengol was given by Mountbatten as a symbol of handing over power to India.
According to this history, when the British decided to grant independence to India, the last Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, expressed his desire to give Jawaharlal Nehru a special symbol at the time of transfer of power. Nehru on this issue of Mahatma Gandhi. sought advice from Rajagopalachari alias Rajiji. Rajaji examined history and suggested that the Sengol (scepter) used to transfer power in the Chola dynasty be given. Accepting Rajaji's words, Nehru asked Rajaji to make arrangements for Sengol, and Rajaji approached Thiruvavadurai Adhinam Math in Tamil Nadu. The abbot contacted Vummidi Bangaroo, a well-known jeweler from Madras. This jeweler made a scepter with 'Nandi' on the top in 15 days. At 10.45 pm on August 14, 1947, Lord Mountbatten completed the formalities of handing over power to the people of India by handing over the Sangol to Nehru.
Congress has objected to this history. Congress has termed this history as bogus. Congress says that whatever the BJP government says, nothing happened. Modi and his bell ringers are crossing the name of the scepter for political gains. There is no documentary evidence for what BJP has said in the name of history. Jairam Ramesh of Congress claims that, in fact, Nehru was given a scepter made in Chennai at a shrine in Madras province at that time.
Ramesh claims that two scholars who have done extensive research on Rajaji have expressed surprise at this claim of the Modi government.
BJP has hit back and asked why Congress has so much hatred against Indian culture and tradition? Sangol was given to Nehru by the holy Saiva Math of Tamil Nadu, but the Congress government called it a golden stick and placed it in a museum, another insult to Indian culture.
This political recrimination will continue as both BJP and Congress have made the issue a prestige issue. Unfortunately, both are fighting over an issue that has no importance for the people of the country. And the ridiculous thing is that both are making almost the same claim on the issue of sceptre, but ego gets in the way of accepting each other's words. The BJP claims that Rajaji got the Sengol prepared with the help of the abbot of Thiruvaduthurai Adhinam Shaiva Math. Mountbatten gave this scepter to Nehru.
The Congress claims that the scepter was made in Madras on the basis of a suggestion made at a shrine in Madras i.e. present day Chennai and Mountbatten gave that scepter to Nehru. Meaning, both BJP and Congress agree on one thing that Mountbatten gave the scepter to Nehru but they are fighting over the issue of where this scepter came from.
In this fight, Congress accused BJP of telling fake stories of WhatsApp University and BJP labeled Congress as a hater of Hindu culture. This is called a bankrupt pattern of very childish behavior. What difference does it make where the scepter came from? Shaiva Math Thiruvaduthurai Adhinam built it or someone else built it, a scepter is a scepter right?
Another childish and ridiculous point on the part of both the Congress and the BJP is that neither has any proof that Mountbatten gave the same scepter to Nehru as he himself claims. Congress has falsified the history of BJP and claimed that there is no documentary evidence, but where has it given the evidence that the scepter was given? Rather, Mountbatten did not even name the shrine where the scepter given to Nehru was made.
Even the BJP considers the claims of Zveri or Thiruvaduthurai Adhinam who made Sengol as historical facts but cannot be considered as proof. Word of mouth is considered a bit of evidence? It was a big event that the country became independent. The agreement between the British government and India at that time is called documentary evidence. No such documentary evidence mentions Sengol.
There is also no evidence that Nehru sought Rajaji's advice, Rajaji told Math and Math told Zhaveri. Isn't the jeweler made the sengol for free? Neither his bills nor any other correspondence or anything has been disclosed.
In short, no one can confidently say that the claims of both BJP and Congress are true. Actually there is no need for it as this is not a big issue to fight for.
A letter from the dancer Padma informed the government of Sengol
The BJP government has claimed that it came to know about Sengol because of a letter written by well-known dancer Padma Subramaniam to the PMO two years ago. In 1978, the Paramacharya of Kanchi Math spoke to one of his disciples about how Jawaharlal Nehru was given Sengol in 1947. Shishi mentioned this in one of his articles but no one gave importance to it at that time. Based on this article, an article about Sengol was published in a Tamil magazine in May 2020.
Padma Subramaniam read this article and translated it and sent it to Prime Minister Modi. Padma requested that Modi should inform the people of the country that sengol is an important item linked to the country's history and an important part of India's rich heritage. Padma is a renowned dancer of Bharatanatyam who has been honored with the Padma Bhushan.
Daughter of Tamil film director Krishnaswamy Subramaniam and composer-lyricist Meenakshi, Padma's entire family is devoted to art and music. Superstar Rajinikanth's wife Lata is Padma's niece. After reading this letter, Modi asked the officials to search for Sengol. There was no picture or other information about Sengol so finding Sengol was a difficult task.
Sengol was found in the Anand Bhawan Museum of Prayagraj after checking in museums across the country. In the museum, Sengol was kept with a gold stick label gifted to him by Nehru. When his photo was taken and sent to the Bangaru family in Tamil Nadu, they immediately recognized Sengol. Modi had taken the decision to install it in the new Parliament building at that time.
