The Unique National Emblem Atop the New Parliament Building

Modi’s version national emblem
Modi’s version national emblem

National Emblem Atop the New Parliament Building: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled the national emblem on the roof of the new Parliament building in the national capital. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh accompanied him on the occasion of the inauguration.

The opening of the bronze emblem is the first major milestone ahead of the new building’s scheduled opening later this year, just in time for the winter session of Parliament.

The 6.5-metre state emblem of India, which weighs 16,000 kg, is entirely hand-crafted by Indian artisans and is made of high-purity bronze.

A steel structure weighing about 6,500 kg has been erected to support it.

The state emblem of India is a variation of Ashoka’s Sarnath Singh capital which is preserved in the Sarnath Museum. The Lion Capital has four lions mounted one after the other on a circular abacus. The frieze of the abacus is decorated with sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull, and a lion separated by dharma chakras.

Concept sketch and process of casting the National Emblem on the roof of the new Parliament House went through eight different stages of preparation

A computer graphic sketch was created and based on that a clay model was created. After approved by the competent authorities, the FPR model was created

A mold was made from the model, and the inside of this negative mold was brushed with molten wax to the desired thickness of the final bronze. After removing the mold, the resulting wax shell was filled with a heat-resistant mixture

Wax tubes, which provided ducts for casting bronze during casting, and vents for gases produced in the process, were fitted outside the wax shell.

To secure it metal pins were hammered through the shell into the core. Thereafter, the finished wax shell was completely covered in layers of heat-resistant fiber reinforced plastic, and the whole was turned upside down and placed in the oven.

During heating, the plaster dries and the wax flows out through ducts made by wax tubes. The plaster mold was then packed in sand, and molten bronze was poured through the tubes, filling the space left by the wax

Upon cooling, the outer plaster and core were removed, and the bronze was finalized.

Finally, the statue was polished and embossed, and finished with a clear coat of protective polish and no paint to display the rich metal.

There is no other similar depiction of the emblem from the point of view of materials and craftsmanship anywhere else in India.

More than 100 artisans from different parts of the country worked on the design, crafting and molding of the emblem for more than six months.

The installation itself was a challenge as it was 32 meters above the upper ground level. National Emblem Atop the New Parliament Building