NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) has added a lesson on the Sengol installed in India’s new Parliament building to its Class 9 Science textbook.
The Sengol was placed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a glass case near the Speaker’s chair during the inauguration of the new Parliament building. It is described as a cultural symbol associated with the Chola era and as part of Tamil heritage.
According to the account cited, the Sengol was presented to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on August 15, 1947, by heads of the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam from Tamil Nadu, marking the transfer of power from British colonial rule to a sovereign Indian government. The hymn “Kolaru Pathigam” from the Second Thirumurai was sung on the occasion.
The textbook notes that the tradition of using the Sengol as a symbol of just governance began around a thousand years ago during the Chola Empire, and links this history to its reinstallation in the new Parliament building.
