On 24 May, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that a Chola Dynasty Sceptre named Sengol will be placed at the new parliament building on 28 May after its inauguration. The Sengol was specially commissioned in 1947 and was handed over to Jawaharlal Nehru as a symbolic transfer of power from the British. After that, some media houses, including the Hindu and The News Minute, claimed that there is no evidence that the sceptre was used as a symbol of the transfer of power. They claimed it was just a gift from Hindu seers in Tamil Nadu, and didn’t have any symbolic value.
Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam in Tamil Nadu, one of the oldest Saivaite Maths in India, has strongly refuted these claims, saying that the sceptre was indeed used as a symbol of the transfer of power. It is notable that it was seers of Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam who had commissioned the sceptre, travelled to it with Delhi, and handed it over to Nehru after symbolically receiving it from Lord Mountbatten.
While narrating the use of the Sengol at the time of India’s independence from the British in 1947, the government said that the seers of Adheenam, led by Sri La Sri Kumaraswamy Thambiran, had first handed over the sceptre to the then viceroy Mountbatten, and he had then given it back. After that, a purification ceremony of the Sengol was carried out by Sri La Sri Kumaraswamy Thambiran. The Sengol was then taken to the Constituent Assembly Hall in a procession accompanied by the ‘nadaswaram’ of Adinam Vidwan TN Rajaratnam Pillai. It was then handed over to Nehru at his residence.
The Hindu and The News Minute had claimed that there is no evidence of the Sengol being presented to Mountbatten and he giving it back as a symbolic gesture, saying it was directly ‘gifted’ to Nehru by the seers.
Is it any surprise that the new Parliament is being consecrated with typically false narratives from the WhatsApp University? The BJP/RSS Distorians stand exposed yet again with Maximum Claims, Minimum Evidence.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 26, 2023
1. A majestic sceptre conceived of by a religious establishment in… pic.twitter.com/UXoqUB5OkC
These reports were then used by Congress leaders and others in the opposition to mock the government over the issue. Jairam Ramesh said that the claim that the sceptre was used as symbol of transfer of power is bogus, calling it “Wholly and completely manufactured in the minds of a few and dispersed into WhatsApp.” He also said, “The sceptre is now being used by the PM & his drum-beaters for their political ends in Tamil Nadu. This is typical of this brigade that embroiders facts to suit its twisted objectives.”
Responding to these claims, Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam posted an official release on its Facebook page strongly, saying that Adheenam’s records support the govt version. They said that it has been documented in multiple sources that the Adheenam was invited to conduct a ritual to symbolise the transfer of power.
The official release by the Adheenam says, “Our Adheenam honoured the invite of Rajaji and we got a Sengol made, gave it to Lord Mountbatten, got it back from him and presented it to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in an elaborate ritual. The Swami who presented it to Nehru also made it clear that this Sengol is a symbol of self-rule”.
The Adheenam said, “saying that such events are bogus or false, trying to raise question marks about our credibility, and trying to reduce the importance of the use of the Sengol as a symbol of the transfer of power for the sake of politics is very sad and unfortunate.” They added that they will provide detailed information on the same in a press conference.
S Gurumurthy, thought leader and editor of the Thuglak Magazine, who was behind rediscovering the Sengol, also slammed The Hindu calling its report recklessl. He Tweeted, “The Hindu report is reckless and the congress relying on the reckless report shows that due to old age its institutional memory is failing.”
Countering ‘no evidence’ claim of The Hindu, he said that the govt docket distributed to journalists contain quotes from the Adheenam, saying “Sadaiyapa swami gave the sengol [Sengol] to Mountbatten and got it back from him and sprinkled holy water on it, invoked the divine name and gave it to Pundit Nehru blessing him to assume power.” He provided the Tamil quote by Adheenam and its English translation.
The Hindu report is reckless and the congress relying on the recklesd report shows that due to old age its institutional memory is failing. Now I will show how the Hindu is reckless if not dishonest https://t.co/hbkiQaDZfo
— S Gurumurthy (@sgurumurthy) May 26, 2023
“This Annex is available in the govt docket but the Hindu has been blind,” he said. S Gurumurthy later also posted the response by Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam.
Thanks @sgurumurthy , since you are such a well wisher of our Group, what you say is indeed concerning, and if the report is factually incorrect, we will correct it. https://t.co/v9nwzTRAP9
— Malini Parthasarathy (@MaliniP) May 26, 2023
After he asked, “Will The Hindu persist with the wrong,” The Hindu director Malini Parthasarathy said that his comments are indeed concerning. “If the report is factually incorrect, we will correct it,” she added.
