When they raked up the controversy over opening the new parliament building, the opposition parties least expected that they would unleash explosive interest in ancient Indian history. Suddenly the Ancient Tamil language word “Sengol” and the Ancient Tamil culture became a part of public discourse in less than 24 hours. Thirst for more knowledge on the Chola Kingdom, the Raj-Dharma, the Sengol (Raj-Danda), the Nandi’s message of Truthfulness, Righteousness, Patience, Peace, Strength, Loyalty to the Nation, and the Spirit of Devoted Service to the Nation, etc has come into conversation. Something that Congress and like-minded parties had not bargained for.
The boycott campaign of the new parliament has backfired. The Indians seem to have become tired of the congress led negativity and as if that shock was not enough, the cabal of about 20 like minded opposition parties were caught denying the history of India’s first Prime Minister Shri Jawaher Lal Nehru holding the sacred Sengol during the transfer of power on the night of 14th August 1947. This news was well covered in the national and International press through reports and photographs.
However, the ultimate cherry on the cake of shame was the discovery, in the museum, of the official label placed on the Sengol. The label introduced the exhibit to the visitors as a “Golden Walking Stick”, gifted to Jawaher Lal Nehru. Imagine, calling a Sengol that was duly consecrated by revered scholarly saints of an ancient temple in Tamilnadu, handed over in an official ceremony, by the last British Viceroy Mountbatten to mark the transfer of power to the first Prime Minister of Independent India, be placed in an obscure provincial museum and be called a “walking stick”. The irony died a hundred death.
Are the Congress and likeminded cabals embarrassed? Would they acknowledge they erred? Perhaps it is much too much to expect.
