Sengol replica at Allahabad Museum draws visitors in numbers

PTI, Oct 1, 2023, 9:32 AM IST

A replica of the historic ‘Sengol’ that was installed at the new Parliament building in May is attracting visitors to the Allahabad Museum.

The ‘Sengol’, a historical sceptre from Tamil Nadu, which was given by the British to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to represent the transfer of power was kept at the Allahabad Museum before being installed in the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The facsimile at the museum was dedicated to the public by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on September 25.

Speaking to PTI about the ‘Sengol’ replica, director of Allahabad Museum Rajesh Prasad said, ”Everything is the same, be it the dimension or the weight.” He added that brass material with gold plating has been used for the facsimile which was built in a week.

The original ‘Sengol’ is made of silver with a coat of gold.

Prasad said the replica at the museum has started attracting eyeballs.

”Until the Sengol was shifted, the locals did not know much about it. Installation of its replica has delighted them. Visitors are turning up in good numbers in the museum and seeing it. They are also feeling happy that the original ‘Sengol’ went from here to the Parliament,” Prasad said.

During the inauguration of the new Parliament building in Delhi on May 28, the prime minister prostrated before the ‘Sengol’ and sought blessings from high priests of various adheenams in Tamil Nadu with the holy sceptre in hand.

Modi then carried the ‘Sengol’ in a procession amid tunes of ”nadaswaram” and chanting of Vedic mantras to the new Parliament building and installed it in a special enclosure on the right side of the Speaker’s chair in the Lok Sabha chamber.

The ‘Sengol’, a Chola-era spectre, is a symbol of the transfer of power from the British in 1947. The height of the ‘Sengol’ is approximately 138.4 centimetres, and it was transferred to the National Museum, New Delhi on November 4, 2022.

Prasad said eight British-era tanks, which were kept in an abandoned condition behind the museum, have been revamped and installed at the museum.

In common parlance in Prayagraj, the ‘Sengol’ was called the ”raaj dand”, while in the museum records, it was mentioned as ”sunahari chharhee”, officials said.

A K Singh, the vice-chancellor of Prof Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Prayagraj, who held the additional charge of the museum director when the ‘Sengol’ was transferred to Delhi, told PTI, ”The replica of ‘Sengol’ installed in the Allahabad Museum will attract the visitors to the museum, the way it did in the past.” ”I feel that this will increase the footfalls at the museum,” Singh said.