Modi's Promised Ram Temple to Open and Resonate with Hindus Ahead of India's Elections - Updated 2:33 PM JST, January 17, 2024
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NEW DELHI (AP) - Frenetic preparations were underway Wednesday in India's northern holy city of Ayodhya to open a grand temple to Lord Ram, Hinduism's most revered deity.
Monday's opening of the Ram Mandir would fulfil a decades-long promise by Hindu nationalists that is expected to resonate with voters in upcoming national elections scheduled in April or May.
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Several sprawling tent cities have been erected nearby to accommodate the tens of thousands of devotees expected to attend. Dozens of private jets will fly India's powerful elite, including top industrialists, film stars and celebrities, to Ayodhya to witness the ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has planned live broadcasts across the country, as well as in some Indian embassies around the world.
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Modi and several Hindu priests will be present at the inauguration ceremony to place a statue of Ram in the temple's inner sanctum.
Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has long campaigned for the temple to replace the 16th-century Babri mosque, which was demolished by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking nationwide riots that killed more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims.
The decades-long dispute ended in 2019 when India's Supreme Court, in a controversial ruling, awarded the site to Hindus and gave Muslims another piece of land for a mosque.
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The opening of the temple at one of India's most contentious religious sites, ahead of national elections due in the spring, is expected to give Modi a significant boost as he seeks to extend his rule for a record third consecutive term by tapping into the religious sentiments of Hindus, who make up about 80% of India's population.
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The three-storey structure clad in pink sandstone, the temple covers 2.9 hectares (7.2 acres) in a 28-hectare (70-acre) complex.
It will have a 4.25-foot (1.3-metre) idol of Lord Ram, who Hindus believe was born on the exact spot where the demolished mosque once stood.
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The town, once dotted with cramped houses and run-down stalls, is already undergoing an elaborate makeover.
Nearly 7,500 people are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony, and by the end of the year, officials estimate that a staggering 100,000 devotees will descend on Ayodhya every day.
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The narrow streets have given way to a four-lane pilgrim route, including the newly developed 13-kilometre (8-mile) Ram Path leading to the temple.
The city boasts a new airport and a sprawling railway station with a daily passenger capacity of more than 50,000. Major hotel chains are building new properties, and locals are converting their homes into homestays. Flower sellers and street food vendors, anticipating a surge in demand, have remodelled their shops.
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Ananya Sharma, a local tour operator, said Ayodhya's transformation gained momentum after the groundbreaking ceremony for the 2020 temple, which Modi also attended.
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"Subsequent development initiatives have made Ayodhya a destination of both spiritual and economic significance," Sharma said.
The temple is being built at an estimated cost of $217 million, but it is far from complete. The site is filled with roaring bulldozers and busy builders still working on the elaborate 46 doors - 42 of which will have a layer of gold weighing about 100 kilograms (220 pounds) - and numerous wall carvings that will form the final architecture of the temple.
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At least two head priests of a Hindu sect have refused to attend the opening ceremony, saying that consecrating an unfinished temple is against Hindu scripture.
Some leaders of India's main opposition Congress Party have declined invitations to follow, and many opposition lawmakers have called the temple a political project.
Across India, however, Hindu sentiment has reached a fever pitch.
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Politicians are visiting local temples and mopping the floors, following a directive from Modi. Indian TV channels are giving wall-to-wall coverage of the event. Volunteers from Modi's party and other Hindu nationalist groups are going door to door, handing out religious flags and pamphlets.
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On a recent afternoon, Om Prakash Bhatia went door to door in a New Delhi neighbourhood, inviting people to attend Hindu ceremonies at local temples.
Along with other volunteers, he handed out saffron flags - a colour associated with Hinduism - to residents, who presented him with garlands of marigolds and smeared vermilion on his forehead.
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"Lord Ram is the centre of our faith. After 500 years of slavery and struggle, the name of Lord Ram has finally triumphed," said Bhatia, referring to the Mughals who ruled India before the British colonised it.
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He shouted "Jai Sri Ram", or "Hail Lord Ram", a slogan that has become a rallying cry for Hindu nationalists who say the Muslim Mughal rulers destroyed Hindu culture.
It has prompted Hindu nationalists to claim ownership of hundreds of historic mosques, raising fears about the status of religious places for India's Muslims.
This minority community has been targeted in recent years by Hindu nationalist groups seeking to turn officially secular India into an avowedly Hindu nation.
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Many others shared Bhatia's feelings about the opening of the temple.
"I am thrilled," said Gaurav Shourey, a resident. "While our ancestors saw the temples being destroyed, our generation is proud to see them being built."
Modi's promised Ram temple is set to open and resonate with Hindus ahead of India's election - Updated 2:33 PM JST, January 17, 2024
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Hindu temple built on site of destroyed mosque; Indian prime minister attends ceremony; Muslims fear conflict
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A large temple has been built in Ayodhya, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on the site believed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama, who is revered by many Hindus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also played a central role in the 22nd ceremony to dedicate the temple to God.
A Muslim mosque, which had stood on the site since the 16th century, was destroyed by Hindu mobs in December 1992. This led to an escalation of religious conflict across India, resulting in the deaths of around 2,000 people. Many Hindu nationalists claimed that invading Muslims had deliberately built a mosque on the birthplace of Lord Rama.
Hindu nationalist forces have long promised to build a temple on the site in honour of Lord Rama.
The three-storey stone temple was built with more than US$20 billion in donations, but only the first floor was inaugurated by the Prime Minister for today's ceremony. The rest is due to be completed by the end of the year. The statue of Lord Rama has already been installed in the temple's sanctum sanctorum, and Prime Minister Modi and others made offerings to it during the ceremony.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Modi, was at the forefront of the movement to build the temple in Ayodhya. With the rise of the temple movement, the BJP rose from a regional party to the ruling party in the country.
On the other hand, holding such a ceremony in an unfinished temple has been criticised by Hindu religious figures and opposition parties.
In addition, the town's redevelopment is progressing as part of the government's policy to make Ayodhya a 'world-class pilgrimage and tourism city', but many residents told the BBC there were no plans to upgrade roads or build facilities. They said their homes, shops and 'religious places' had been destroyed.
A man whose father was killed in an attack on the mosque in 1992 says there has been no push from the Indian government to acknowledge its wrongdoing. Muslims living in Ayodhya told the BBC they would leave the town for a while before the temple's inauguration, fearing the conflict would escalate.
