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Govt says lions' fury or calm depends on who looks at it

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The newly inaugurated National Emblem has led to yet another controversy about the 'look' of the lions. While the Centre maintains that it is an exact replica of Sarnath, Opposition begs to differ.

New Delhi, July 13: Beauty is famously regarded as an attribute that lies in the eyes of the beholder. So is the case with calm and anger, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri wrote amidst questions by the Opposition on whether the national emblem of Parliament represents the statue of Great Sarnath.

Govt says lions fury or calm depends on who looks at it

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the national emblem cast on the roof of the new Parliament building in New Delhi. The inauguration of the emblem, which is made up of bronze with a total weight of 9,500 kg and is 6.5 metre in height, marks the first major milestone ahead of the new building's scheduled opening for later this year.

However after the inauguration, the Opposition parties accused the government of distorting the national emblem. Trinamool Congress MP, Jawahar Sircar said that the depiction of the Ashokan lions is unnecessarily aggressive and disproportionate. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary said that the government should check whether the national emblem of Parliament represents the statue of Great Sarnath or is it a distorted version of the gir lion.

How the National Emblem on the new Parliament building was designed and why it is uniqueHow the National Emblem on the new Parliament building was designed and why it is unique

While defending the emblem, the government said that the State Emblem of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka which is preserved in the Sarnath Museum. The Lion Capital has four lions mounted back-to-back on a circular abacus. The frieze of the abacus is adorned with sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull, and a lion separated by intervening Dharma Chakras.

Those protesting without reason should remember it is the same real pillar of Sarnath that we use everywhere as our historical symbol. The face of the lions sitting on the original Sarnath pillar is open. And the statue in Parliament is made exactly like the original one, BJP Voice said on Twitter.

Puri went on to state that if an exact replica of the original were to be placed on the new building, it would barely be visible beyond the peripheral rail. The 'experts' should also know that the original placed in Sarnath is at the ground level while the new emblem is at a height of 33 metre from the ground.

One needs to appreciate the impact of the angle. If one looks at the Sarnath emblem from below, it would look as calmer and angry as the one being discussed, Puri added. An official tells OneIndia that there is no other similar depiction of the emblem from the perspective of material and craftsmanship anywhere in India. Over 100 artisans from various parts of the country tirelessly worked on the design, crafting and casting of the emblem for over six months to bring out the quality that could be seen in the final installation. The installation itself was a challenge as it was 32-meter above upper ground level.

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