Row over angry 'lions' replacing benign ones in national emblem atop new Parliament building

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, July 12

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the national emblem atop the new Parliament building, another controversy erupted, this time over the “facial expression and built” of the Ashokan lions on it.

While yesterday it was the ceremony that triggered a massive row with Opposition parties accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making it a “personal event with rituals of one particular religion”, they today accused the government of “distorting” the national emblem by replacing “graceful and regally confident” Ashokan lions with a “menacing, teeth-baring and aggressive” version. Union Minister Hardeep Puri’s argument about the difference in size of the Sarnath original and the replica atop Parliament failed to convince rival parties who insisted it to be yet another “Constitutional violation” by the Modi government.

Observers termed the controversy as yet another example of the “growing mistrust and differences between the government and the Opposition”. “Beauty is famously regarded as lying in the eyes of the beholder. So is the case with calm and anger. The original Sarnath Emblem is 1.6m high whereas the emblem on the top of the new Parliament building is huge at 6.5m in height,” Puri said, insisting 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”.

“One needs to appreciate the impact of angle, height and scale when comparing the two structures. If one looks at the Sarnath Emblem from below, it would look as calm or angry as the one being discussed,” he wrote.

Heeraman Tiwari, JNU professor at the Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, too called it “a perfect replica”. “Anyone questioning its design has to be ignorant of ancient Indian iconography and history. As a student of history of ancient India, Buddhism and Hinduism, I can confirm that this emblem fully conforms to its original design. Don’t know what the fuss is all about,” argued Tiwari.

Detractors, however, claimed that not only were the lions in the replica more “muscular with wider chests”, but a closer look also showed “an unnecessary teeth-baring aggression”.

Taking a swipe, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD said the lions in the Sarnath Emblem had gentleness about them while “those built during Amrit Kaal show a man-eating tendency to consume everything, humans, ancestors and the country. Each symbol reflects the inner thinking of a human being”. Slamming the government, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said “to completely change the character and nature of the lions on Ashoka’s pillar at Sarnath is nothing but a brazen insult to India’s national symbol!”

TMC’s firebrand MP Mahua Moitra tweeted: “Truth be told, transition from Satyameva Jayate to ‘Singhameva Jayate’ has long been completed in spirit”. Historian S Irfan Habib objected saying: “Why should our lions look ferocious and full of angst?”

The BJP hit back, accusing the Opposition of comparing 2D images in print to an imposing 3D structure. Designers also claimed “no deviation”.

Views on emblem

• Union Minister Hardeep Puri’s argument about the difference in size of the Sarnath original and the replica atop Parliament failed to convince rival parties.
• Historian S Irfan Habib objected saying: “Why should our lions look ferocious and full of angst?”

There’s no change, it’s a 3d structure

There is just no change in the national emblem. The Opposition is comparing 2D images in print to an imposing 3D structure. They have lost it. — Amit Malviya, BJP IT cell in-charge