Hands of Gold: PM Modi to honour 60,000 workers who built new Parliament building

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will honour and felicitate 60,000 workers who built the new Parliament building which will be dedicated to India on 28 May Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said.

“Around 60,000 Shram Yogis have contributed in record-time construction of this Parliament building. PM Modi will dedicate to the nation the new Parliament building on 28 May. This new Parliament building is a testimony to PM’s foresightedness,” Shah said.

“This is going to be a foundational event, and it will mark Amrit Kaal in India,” the Union Home Minister added.

Shah emphasised that the new Parliament building has been constructed in record time.

Date & Time of India’s new Parliament building inauguration

Date and day: 28 May, 2023 (Sunday)

Time        : Around noon

Tamil Nadu’s Sengol to be placed in India’s new Parliament building

Shah announced reintroduction of Sengol (scepter) a ‘historical’ symbol of India’s Independence as it signifies the transfer of power from the British to Indians.

Sengol was gifted by a group of priests from Tamil Nadu on the eve of India’s independence.

“Sengol holds a great significance in India’s history. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru accepted Sengol around 10:45 PM of 14 August, 1947 through the Adhinam of Tamil Nadu. It was a sign of shift of power from British to the people of our country,” Shah said.

The minister went on to say that Sengol holds huge significance in Indian, especially Tamil culture.

“Sengol has been important from the time of the Chola dynasty… This Sengol will be kept in New Parliament… PM Modi will accept this Sengol and it will be placed near the Speaker’s speaker,” he said.

PM Modi will dedicate the newly constructed building of Parliament to the nation on 28th May. A historical event is being revived on this occasion. The historic sceptre, ‘Sengol’, will be placed in new Parliament building. It was used on August 14, 1947, by PM Nehru when the… pic.twitter.com/NJnsdjNfrN

— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2023

Where is Sengol now?

As per the minister, Sengol was kept at a museum in Allahabad. "It is inappropriate to keep this sacred Sengol in a museum," Shah said.

"There cannot be a more suitable, holy and appropriate place than the Parliament Building for housing the Sengol. That is why on the day of dedication to the nation of the Parliament Building, our Prime Minister, with great humility, will accept Sengol through Tamil Nadu Adhinam," he added.

"The one accorded the Sengol is expected to furnish the just and impartial rule. The incident of getting this pious Sengol at the time of India's independence was widely covered by media the world over, Shah said.

History of Sengol

Sengol derives its name from the Tamil world "semmai" which means "righteousness".

Ahead of 15 August, 1947, there were several times when the last Viceroy of British India, Lord Mountbatten, asked Nehru what would mark the transfer of power when India attains Independence.

Nehru, the first prime minister of Independent India, sought advice from country's last Governor General C Rajagopalachari who told him about the Tamil tradition of the high priest handing over a Sengol to a new king when he comes to power.

As per reports, Rajagopalachari said the tradition was followed during the reign of the Cholas and suggested it could mark India's freedom from British Raj.

Rajagopalachari was then asked to arrange a Sengol for the historic moment of India's independence. He contacted Thiruvaduthurai Atheenam, a prominent mutt in present-day Tamil Nadu.

The then seer of the mutt accepted the responsibility and a Sengol was made by Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, a jeweller in then Madras which was five feet long and has a 'nandi' bull on top, symbolising justice.

As per reports, a senior priest of the mutt had first handed over the Sengol to Mountbatten and then took it back. It was then sprinkled with gangajal and was taken in a procession to the then PM Nehru and handed over to him, approximately 15 minutes before midnight, when India attained Independence in 1947.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.