Sengol
Sengol (IAST: ceṅkōl) is a gold-plated silver sceptre that is currently installed in India's New Parliament House. It was originally gifted to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, by holy men from an  Adheenam in Tamil Nadu on 14 August 1947 and was housed in the Allahabad Museum for seven decades. It was moved in 2023 to the New Parliament House at its inauguration by  Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

History 

Just before the Independence of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and other members of the Indian National Congress took part in religious ceremonies and received gifts.  On such an occasion, on 14 August, Nehru was presented with the Sengol by emissaries from the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam Matha, a Hindu monastery in Tamil Nadu, at his home. 
The event had negligible impact on public discourse at the time.  The Sengol and other belongings of Nehru were donated to the Allahabad Museum, where it was erroneously labelled, as "Golden Walking Stick" or "Golden Stick". It would remain largely forgotten until the inauguration of the New Parliament House in 2023.

At the inauguration of the new Parliament House, Narendra Modi installed the Sengol near the chair of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, accompanied by Hindu priests who head 20 Adheenams (monastries) in Tamil Nadu, and prayers.

The government of India in 2023 claimed the Sengol was a symbol of the transfer of power from the British regime into the hands of the Indians. This narrative seems to have been derived from an article by Swaminathan Gurumurthy, a Hindu nationalist, published in Thuglak magazine on 5th May 2021. Gurumurthy attributed the narrative to the recollections of Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi, the 68th head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, as told to a disciple in 1978. 

A summary of this government narrative is as follows. Jawaharlal Nehru was asked by Lord Mountbatten about a symbol  to mark transfer of power. Nehru discussed the issue with his fellow Congress leader Rajagopalachari. Rajagopalachari informed him of the Chola tradition of the transfer of the Sengol and  with Nehru's agreement, approached the seer of Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam Matha to make one. The Sengol was presented, by a delegation that flew to Delhi, first to Mountbatten. Mountbatten then sent it to Nehru via the delegation in an official ceremony. 

These claims are inaccurate. There was no evidence found to suggest that either Mountbatten or Rajagopalachari was involved in the process, that the ceremony had any official significance, that Nehru perceived the event as a transfer-of-power or that the delegation went by flight.

Electoral politics 
Though the ruling BJP party has limited presence in South India, the party is aiming to expand electorarly in southern states such as Tamil Nadu in the 2024 elections, part of its 'Look South' campaign. To appeal to Tamil voters, analysts note the BJP has adopted a strategy to present itself as champions of Tamil culture. Giving the Sengol, a Tamil symbol, and Tamil Adheenam priests a central role at new Parliament inauguration is believed to be part of this strategy. Soon after the Sengol installation, Amit Shah, the Home Minister, considered to be one of BJP's main strategists, asked Tamil voters to elect 25 BJP coalition MPs, as a show of gratitude to the prime minister.

Design 
Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, a jeweler from Chennai, crafted the sengol. Sengol is a handcrafted gold-plated sceptre, about  in length, with a diameter of about  at the top and  at the bottom. Encasing a wooden staff, it is surmounted by a sitting Nandi to symbolise justice and sturdiness.

Debate 
Some political analysts claim that since historically, Sengol symbolized the coronation of Tamil Kings by high priests, it is a sign of monarchy that does not belong in a Parliament of a democracy.

According to The New York Times, during the inauguration of the new Indian Parliament, this sceptre emerged as a key object encapsulating the meaning of the new Parliament - "to shed not just the remnants of India's colonial past, but also increasingly to replace the secular governance that followed it."

See also 
 New Parliament House
 Ceremonial mace

Reference

External links 
 

Formal insignia
Indian metalwork