• PM will install a historic golden sceptre, called Sengol, near the Speaker’s seat in new parliament.
• Background
  • Before independence in 1947, the then Viceroy – Lord Mountbatten asked the to-be Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru about any ceremony symbolise the transfer of power from British to Indian hands.
  • PM Nehru consulted C. Rajagopalachari, commonly known as Rajaji who suggested that the Chola model of handing over the Sengol sceptre could be adopted as a suitable ceremony for India’s independence. He said that it would reflect India’s ancient civilisation and culture, as well as its unity in diversity.
    • Rajaji went on to become the last Governor-General of India.

ABOUT SENGOL

• Sengol gets its name from Tamil word ‘semmai’, meaning righteousness.
  • It was inspired by ceremony (for transfer of power) performed during Chola dynasty.
• It is believed to be in practice since Sangam Age and finds mention in texts like Purananooru, Kurunthogai, Perumpaanatrupadai and Kalithogai.
• The Sengol sceptre was presented to PM Nehru by Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam (a 500-year-old Saivaite monastery in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu) on August 14^th, 1947.
• It was crafted by Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, a famous jeweller in
• It is a 5 feet long, stick-like item made of silver and covered in gold. The sceptre has a carving of a bull, called a Nandi, at the top which signifies ‘Nyaya’.