The claim that the Sengol (sceptre) was a symbol of transfer of power from the British to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru has been exposed, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Friday and described the BJP as a “fake factory”.
Mr. Ramesh quoted an interview of the head pontiff of the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam, which appeared in The Hindu, in which he said that there was no clear documentary evidence that the sceptre was presented to Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, before being handed over to Nehru.
“So the BJP’s ‘FakeFactory’ stands exposed today by none other than the revered head Swamigal of the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam himself in The Hindu. No Mountbatten, no Rajaji, no part in official transfer of power on August 14, 1947. But yes, the majestic ‘Sengol’ was indeed presented to Nehru as I have been saying all along,” Mr. Ramesh said on Twitter.
“Here are some more facts to nail the lies of today’s Raja and his drumbeaters,” he added, and referred to an advertisement on page 10 of The Hindu edition dated August 19,1947 that mentioned about the presentation of the ceremonial sceptre to Nehru at his residence at 10 p.m. on August 14, 1947.
“It was clearly an initiative of the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam itself. In the photo, the famed Nagaswaram virtuoso TN Rajaratnam Pillai is marked #5. Here is what is said on him in an article on a website of the Union Ministry of Culture: When India attained independence Rajaratnam was sent to Delhi by the Pandarasannadhi of the Tiruvaduturai Matam to present on his behalf a mace of solid gold senkol (symbol of righteous administration). Rajaratnam was thrilled by this proud privilege. It was Dr. P Subbaroyan who introduced him to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to whom Rajaratnam played the Nagaswaram before handing over the mace,” Mr. Ramesh said.
“There is no mention of Mountbatten or even Rajaji. Rajaratnam Pillai is himself the subject of a fascinating new biography by an eminent Japanese ethnomusicologist in which the August 14 1947 episode is mentioned,” he added.
