Why is there outrage over the new ‘National Emblem’?

Why is there outrage over the new ‘National Emblem’?

Subject: History

Section: Art and Culture

Context:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently gave the nation a first glimpse of the national emblem atop the new Parliament House coming up as part of the Central Vista Project.
• The National emblem of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.
• The Lion Capital of Ashoka is the capital of a column excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India.
• The capital was originally installed ca. 250 BCE by orders of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka atop a column in Sarnath, the site of Gautama Buddha’s first sermon.
• In the sermon, the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism—suffering, attachment, renunciation, and the right path—which the four lions symbolize.
• In July 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the interim prime minister of India, and soon-to-be prime minister of the Dominion of India formally proposed in the Constituent Assembly of India that the wheel on the abacus of the Sarnath capital be the model of the national flag of India and the capital itself without the lotus the state emblem of India
• Ashokan pillars :4 parts
  • Shaft: A long shaft formed the base and was made up of a single piece of stone or monolith.
  • Capital: On top of shaft lay the capital, which was either lotus-shaped or bell-shaped.
  • Abacus: Above the capital, there was a circular or rectangular base known as the abacus.
  • Capital Figure: All the capital figures (usually animals like a bull, lion, elephant, etc) are vigorous and carved standing on a square or circular abacus.
• Major Pillar Inscriptions of Ashoka
  • Sarnath Lion Capital: Near Varanasi was built by Ashoka in commemoration of Dhammachakrapravartana or the first sermon of Buddha.
  • Vaishali Pillar, Bihar, single lion, with no inscription.
  • Sankissa Pillar, Uttar Pradesh
  • Lauriya-Nandangarth, Champaran, Bihar.
  • Lauriya-Araraj, Champaran, Bihar
  • Allahabad pillar, Uttar Pradesh.
• The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang (602-664) left detailed accounts of the Dharmarajika stupa and Ashoka’s lion pillar.