NB: The RSS and BJP are inventing ever new avatars of communal politics, mixed with a generous dose of an Orwellian nightmare. A theocracy is the use of the state by religious leaders (self-styled representatives of God); and civil religion the use of religion by the state as in Japanese State Shinto. However, Caesaropapism (Caesar+Pope) is the complete subjugation of popular religion by state power in particular by the monarch. This is the opposite of theocracy and the assumption by a monarch of religious authority. Caesaropapism prevailed in Tsarist Russia. Congratulations to PM Modi, Hail Caesar, Hail the Defender of the Faith! Forward into the past! DS

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Union home minister Amit Shah announced that a Sengol (sceptre), which he claims was presented by the last viceroy of British India Lord Mountbatten to Jawaharlal Nehru on August 14, 1947 to mark the transfer of power from Britain to India, will be placed in the new parliament building that Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate on Sunday, May 28.

Shah’s claim has been questioned for lacking credible evidence in its support. It may be mentioned that the Sengol was the golden sceptre handed over to a king in Tamil Nadu by a God or Goddess for ruling the subjects and ensuring justice in their name. Shah provided an account stating that at the time of independence in August 1947, Mountbatten asked Nehru if any rituals were being followed in India for the transfer of power. Nehru then turned to Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji, who referred to the tradition that kings in Tamil Nadu followed for transferring power by handing over the Sengol.

Shah maintained that Rajaji arranged for a sengol from Tamil Nadu, which Mountbatten handed over to Nehru to signify the transfer of power from Britain to India. So far, he has not authenticated his claim with the support of any credible historical documents.

Constituent assembly and the transfer of power

Such a claim is completely contrary to the constituent assembly’s proceedings at midnight on August 14, 1947, when India became independent. Those proceedings illuminatingly reveal that the assembly adopted a motion moved by its president Rajendra Prasad for the transfer of power. Its text is worth quoting:

… it should be intimated to the viceroy that (1) the constituent assembly of India has assumed power for the governance of India, and (2) the constituent assembly of India has endorsed the recommendation that Lord Mountbatten be Governor-General of India from the August 15, 1947, and that this message be conveyed forthwith to Lord Mountbatten by the president and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

https://thewire.in/politics/sengol-divine-right-parliament-people

Ten Theses on the Proliferation of Egocrats (1977)

सेन्गोल के रास्ते नेहरू की एंट्री | Sengol debate & Nehru’s return

ग़ज़ब हो गया है। आसमान से बिजली नहीं गिरी है बस ग़नीमत है। मगर कड़की ऐसी है कि उसकी रौशनी में जवाहर लाल नेहरू चमक गए हैं। सेन्गोल के प्रचार में नेहरू का भी ख़ूब प्रचार हो रहा है इसको लेकर जो रहस्यमयी कथा बताई गई है, इसमें कई झूठ और कई झोल निकल आए हैं। क्या इस तरह की मेहनत इसलिए होती है ताकि जनता को मूर्ख बनाया जाए। तो इसका एक रास्ता है। आप खुद को सदा के लिए मूर्ख घोषित कर दीजिए और सरकार से कहिए कि हमें बार-बार मूर्ख बनाने में मेहनत मत कीजिए, हम मूर्ख हैं और रहेंगे, अब आप अपना ध्यान काम पर दीजिए। हम अपना ध्यान दिमाग़ पर कभी देंगे ही नहीं। सेन्गोल को लेकर ग़लत बातें, आधी-अधूरी बातें और झूठ का इतना प्रचार हुआ है कि उसे बताने में यह वीडियो लंबा हो गया है। आपसे गुज़ारिश है कि प्लीज़ पूरा देखिए ताकि पता चले कि आपको कैसे धोखे में रखा जाता है।