What is Sengol? Row on Nehru Ceremony Accuracy EXPLAINED

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed on Friday that there is no documented evidence that Lord Mountbatten, C Rajagopalachari and Jawaharlal Nehru describe the ‘Sengol’ as a symbol of the transfer of power from the British to India. He also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his drummers are using the ceremonial scepter for his political purposes in Tamil Nadu.

The ‘Sengol’ will be installed near the president of the Lok Sabha speaker after Modi inaugurates the new Parliament building on May 28, an event that 20 opposition parties, including Congress, are boycotting. On Thursday, the BJP had alleged that Congress showed contempt for Hindu traditions by calling the sacred ‘Sengol’ a “golden stick gifted” to India’s first Prime Minister Nehru and keeping it in a museum. ‘” with Nehru, on the eve of India’s independence, was the exact moment of the transfer of power from the British to India, BJP leader Amit Malviya said.

On Twitter, Ramesh said: “The PM (Prime Minister) and his drummers are now using the scepter for their political purposes in Tamil Nadu. This is typical of this brigade that embroiders tailor-made for its twisted objectives. The real question is why President Droupadi Murmu is not allowed to inaugurate the new Parliament.”

He claimed that a majestic scepter conceived by a religious establishment in Madras province and crafted in the city of Madras (now Chennai) was presented to Nehru in August 1947. “There is no documented evidence whatsoever that Mountbatten, Rajaji and Nehru describe this scepter. as a symbol of the transfer of British power to India. All claims to this effect are clear and simple: false,” he said.

However, sources told News18 that the Sengol ceremony, considered sacred, took place just before Pandit Nehru raised the national flag and delivered his historic Date With Fate speech. While both Indian and foreign media reported the ceremony as taking place on 14 August 1947, it went unrecorded due to the urgency of staging the event amid partition and violence. Consequently, the sengol ceremony and its investiture ritual seemed to fade from the institutional memory of the Indian state.

However, beginning in 2017, reports emerged in the Tamil media detailing how the government of India followed the Sengol sacred investiture model of the Chola Kings of Tamil Nadu for the transfer of power from the British to the Indians. These reports mentioned that minutes before Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the nation, the sacred Sengol inauguration ceremony took place. The ceremony was administered by a saint from Tiruvavaduthurai Math, together with a team of musicians and Oduvars (reciters) specially invited by the government. Following the Chola tradition, the Adheenams presented a golden Sengol, crowned with a Nandi (bull) and purified with water from holy rivers, to the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Tamil sacred texts, particularly Thevaram, were chanted to symbolize divine blessings and the mandate to rule justly and fairly.

According to reports, Viceroy Mountbatten inquired about the traditional ritual to symbolize the transfer of power, for which Pandit Nehru sought the advice of Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji. It was Rajaji who conceptualized the Chola model of assumption of the throne and approached the Tiruvavaduthurai Math to perform the sacred function in Delhi. Rajaji made travel arrangements for the Adheenam team to come to Delhi and oversee the investiture of the Sengol by the Prime Minister, following the ancient ritual observed during the reign of the Chola kings. Tamil media also reported that the purpose behind Sengol Vesting was to avoid directly assuming power from the British and instead receive authority from the saints.

According to media reports, the entire event was carried out in a hurry. Due to the illness of the elder Adheenam, the younger Adheenam and the team of saints, singers and musicians were sent to perform the ceremony. A 5ft long gold plated Sengol, crafted by Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, a renowned jeweler in Chennai, was used in the ceremony. About 15 minutes before Pandit Nehru was due to address the nation at midnight on August 15, the saint handed him the Sengol. While the 11 verses of the Thevaram, specifically the Kolaru Pathikam, were being chanted to invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva, Pandit Nehru held the Sengol, signifying that he assumed power with the assurance of eternal rule, the sources said. Photos of the event, showing Pandit Nehru reverently holding the Sengol as the saints performed the recitation, were available with the Tiruduthurai Adheenam and were also published in the media. These photos were reportedly displayed at the Tiruvaduthurai Adheenam Premises Ashram.

The media description of the event was meticulous, providing details such as jewelers Vummidi Bangaru Chetty crafting the Sengol based on the design provided by the Adheenam. The reports also mentioned that the entire sacred ceremony was kept secret from the public, and the Sengol, which represents the transfer of power, was kept at Anand Bhavan in Allahabad.

Following these events, the Tamil Weekly Thuglak, founded by renowned Tamil journalist Cho Ramaswamy, published a comprehensive account of the event’s historicity. He traced the information back to a recorded conversation between the revered saint, the Kanchi Paramacharya, and his disciples. The conversation, which appeared to have taken place on Independence Day in 1978, was later found in a book published after Kanchi Acharya’s death in 1994.

The ceremony

The sengol ceremony, including the awarding of the gold-plated sengol, took place at Pandit Nehru’s residence. The head priest of the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam Temple in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu presented the Sengol to Nehru on the evening of Thursday 14 August 1947, on the occasion of Indian Independence, according to the sources, citing available material. Along with the Sengol, an address from the Head of the Temple was also presented to Pandit Nehru.

Based on the information available from searching the National Archives of India record files, contemporary newspapers, books and online sources, the following facts were collected:

• The golden Sengol was adorned with jewels.

• Its estimated value at that time was Rs. 15,000.

• Vummidi Bangaru Chetti and Sons, jewelers and diamond dealers from Madras (now Chennai), created the Sengol. The Vummidi Bangaru Chetty family, who made the Sengol, have confirmed their involvement, but the oldest member who worked on it, now over 95, cannot recall specific details. However, they have kept a photograph of the event at his home.

• The commissioning of the Sengol was conducted by His Holiness Sri-La-Sri Ambalavana Desika Swamigal, the Mahasannidanam of Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam in Tanjore.

• The Sengol was brought to Delhi by Sri-La-Sri Kumaraswami Thambiran of Thiruvathigal and Mr. R. Ramalingam Pillai, Superintendent of Dakshinam of Adheenam.

• The presentation of Sengol to Pandit Nehru took place at his residence on the night of Thursday, August 14, 1947.

According to excerpts detailing the greatness of the Tiruvaduthurai Adheenam, the following information is revealed:

• Lord Mountbatten asked Nehru about the symbolic representation of the transfer of power.

• Nehru consulted Rajaji, who suggested that, following the tradition of Tamil kings assuming power, the Rajaguru would hand over the Sengol to the king and they could have a saint perform the same ritual.

• Rajaji contacted the pontiff of Tiruvaduthurai Adheenam and asked him to lead the holy ritual.

Despite the Supreme Pontiff’s failing health, he made all the necessary arrangements and had the Sengol, adorned with a Rishab (bull) on top, crafted by Vummidi Bangaru Chetty Jewellers.

• Sadaiyappa Thambiran Swami, the deputy of the Supreme Pontiff, accompanied by singer (othuvar) Asthana Nadaswara Vidwan (renowned Rajarathinam Pillai), flew to Delhi on a specially arranged flight.

• On the night of August 14, at 11:45, the singer recited the 13 verses of the Tamil text Thevaram, authored by Saint Thirugnanasambandar (one of the most famous nayanmars). Each verse concluded with the benediction, “You will rule, it is my command.”

• Sadaiyapa Swami presented the Sengol to Mountbatten, received it from him, sprinkled it with holy water, invoked the divine name and handed it over to Pandit Nehru, blessing him to assume power.

• The Nadaswara Vidwan Rajarathinam played the nadaswaram and Nehru received holy ash and a bad sandal.

After presenting the sengol, Thambiran Swami told Pandit Nehru, “This golden sengol is your sengol and a symbol of our government.” Hearing this, the singer repeated twice, raising his voice: “you will rule, it is my command.”