Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah will be presented with a 10-kg gold-plated ‘sengol’ as a symbol of being the “caretaker of social justice”. A delegation from Madurai, the Makkal Samugha Nidhi Pervai also known as the People’s Social Justice Council, will hand it to him.

A sengol represents authority and power, while its presentation signifies the transfer of power and embodiment of justice for the people. In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also installed a sengol in the new Parliament building that holds historical importance as it was used to officially enact the transfer of power from the British to India on August 14, 1947.

In Tamil culture, it symbolises righteousness; the delegation from Tamil Nadu believes that Siddaramaiah is a deserving recipient of the sengol. Manoharan from the Makkal Samugha Nidhi Pervai (MSNP) spoke to News18 about its significance and explained why they were giving Siddaramaiah this “social justice sengol”.

The sengol being presented to Siddaramaiah is different from the one installed in the new Parliament. While that one includes idols of Nandi and Lakshmi, this one features Periyar’s engraved idol. EV Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, staunchly stood against the prevailing Brahminical hegemony and social disparities in Tamil Nadu and is celebrated as the ‘Father of the Dravidian Movement’.

“The sengol installed by the prime minister has an image of Nandi, representing a specific class of people. It was turned into a Hindutva symbol. That sengol includes idols of Nandi and Lakshmi, symbols of Hinduism. In our sengol, we have chosen Periyar as a symbol of social justice. Therefore, it is appropriate to present this social justice sengol to Siddaramaiah. The sengol does not represent any specific caste or religion but signifies justice and power,” Manoharan said.

The MSNP highlighted Siddaramaiah’s promise to establish 75 percent reservation for social justice and his decision to remove references to communal figures like RSS ideologue VD Savarkar from textbooks, which they consider a positive step.vvvvvv