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‘Not baseless, but also…’: Ex-ASI official on row over emblem atop Parliament
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the National Emblem cast atop the new parliament building in New Delhi on Monday. Soon after, the expressions on the faces of the lions to those in the original emblem invited a barrage of backlashes from the opposition camp.
Amid an opposition uproar over the national emblem cast atop the under-construction Parliament building, a former top official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said on Tuesday that the claims of the leaders are not “baseless” or “meaningless”, but “political commentary” on the issue is not right.
The statement was made by Buddha Rashmi (BR) Mani, famous archaeologist and former additional director general (ADG) of ASI. “Ashoka Pillar excavated in 1905 (was) copied to be installed above the parliament house of India. (I) will not call claims of opposition leaders baseless or meaningless but it's not right to make political commentary on it,” he told news agency ANI.
Mani is known for heading a team of ASI officials that had found remains of what looked like a temple at the Ayodhya site in Uttar Pradesh.
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On opposition leaders' displeasure over the “bared fangs” of the lions in the emblem, Mani said that “perspective changes with such (a) difference”.
“(The) original pillar is 7-8 feet while this (the emblem atop Parliament building) is about 21 feet… When seen from ground level, (the) angle differs but when seen from the front, it is clear that it is a good attempt to copy it,” Mani further said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the National Emblem cast atop the new Parliament building in New Delhi on Monday. Soon after, the expressions on the faces of the lions to those in the original emblem invited a barrage of backlash from the opposition camp. Some activists and historians also criticised the new emblem.
Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury took to Twitter to urge Modi to recheck the face of the lions and “mend” them. “Narendra Modi Ji, please observe the face of the Lion, whether it is representing the statue of Great Sarnath or a distorted version of GIR lion. Please check it and if it needs, mend the same,” his message on the micro-blogging site read.
Senior lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan compared the original National Emblem's lions sitting “majestically” with Mahatma Gandhi, while the “bared fangs” on top of the Parliament building with that of Nathuram Godse - Gandhi's assassin. “From Gandhi to Godse…This is Modi's new India?”
Historian S Irfan Habib called it an avoidable issue. “Meddling with our national emblem was totally unnecessary and avoidable. Why should our lions look ferocious and full of angst? These are Ashoka's lions adapted by independent India in 1950,” he said.
Bihar's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, among others, also raised objections to the emblem.
