Mystery of the affair of the sceptre

Lefties and libtards are miffed with the sceptre ceremony that marked the opening of the new Parliament House. They should read Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm. He wrote in 1983 about how invention of tradition is part of the growth of new nationalisms. We saw it happening.

- R. PRASANNAN

Flashback to August 14, 1947. Shortly after sunset, Jawaharlal Nehru, head of the interim government who would be sworn in as the first PM of free India the next morning, had visitors at his home. Two holy men and a nagaswaram maestro, who had arrived from Thanjavur by train and taxi, wanted to bless Nehru with water from the Cauvery river, sacred ash and a sacred cloth, and gift him a specially made sengol or sceptre. Though an agnostic, Nehru obliged. The ceremony was photographed and forgotten. As the tagline of a 1996 cola ad said, “Nothing official about it.”