Ayodhya, India –
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed a controversial building built on the ruins of a historic mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya as a political victory for the populist leader seeking to transform the country from a secular democracy to a Hindu state. A Hindu temple was opened. .
The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Ram and fulfills a long-standing demand of millions of Hindus who worship the revered deity and extol the virtues of truth, sacrifice, and ethical governance. Capitalizing on this demand, Modi and other Hindu nationalist groups have made the temple central to their vision of restoring Hindu pride suppressed by centuries of Mughal rule and British colonialism. I have been drawing.
Prime Minister Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hope the temple’s opening will help the prime minister win a record third consecutive term in general elections scheduled for this spring. However, the temple is still under construction and critics have accused Modi of rushing the opening to attract voters.
Wearing a traditional kurta tunic, Prime Minister Modi attended the opening ceremony last week as Hindu priests chanted hymns inside the temple’s inner sanctum, where a 1.3-meter (4.3-foot) stone statue of Lord Ram was installed. led. A monk blew a conch shell to mark the temple’s opening, and Prime Minister Modi placed a lotus flower in front of a black stone statue adorned with intricate gold ornaments and holding a gold bow and arrow. Then he prostrated himself before the idol.
About 7,500 people, including elite businessmen, politicians and movie stars, witnessed the ceremony on a giant screen outside the temple as flower petals rained down from military helicopters.
“Our Lord Ram of centuries has arrived,” PM Modi said in a speech after the ceremony, drawing thunderous applause from the thousands of attendees. He said the temple was built with “innumerable sacrifices” and was a testament to India’s rise to “break the shackles of slave mentality”.
“Jan. 22nd, 2024 is not just a date; it marks the beginning of a new era,” Modi said.
The Modi government turned the event into a national observance by holding live screenings across the country and closing offices for half a day. Flags of saffron, the color of Hinduism, adorned the streets of various cities, and government party members went door-to-door distributing religious pamphlets.
Television news channels provided nonstop coverage of the event, which was portrayed as a religious spectacle. Some movie theaters will provide free popcorn and broadcast the event live. Many states declared the day a public holiday. In an unprecedented measure, stock markets and money markets were closed for the day.
The TV news headline said, “Ram Rajya (reign) begins.” Ram Rajya is a Sankrit word meaning just and ethical governance in Hinduism, but it is also used by Hindu nationalists to refer to the dominance of Hinduism in officially secularized India.
Prime Minister Modi has become the face of India’s unprecedented and unapologetic fusion of religion and politics. Ahead of the temple’s inauguration, he visited numerous Ram temples over 11 days as part of Hindu rituals to set the tone.
Analysts and critics see Monday’s ceremony as the start of the election campaign for Mr. Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist and one of India’s most influential leaders. They argue that the government-sponsored extravaganza shows how the line between religion and state has been undermined under the Modi government.
“Previous prime ministers before Modi had also visited temples and other places of worship, but they went there as devotees. This is the first time that PM Modi has visited there as a ceremonial celebrant.” said Niranjan Mukhopadhyay, an expert on Hindu nationalism and author of a book on Prime Minister Modi.
The temple is located in one of India’s most troublesome religious sites and could potentially help Prime Minister Modi return to power by tapping into the religious sentiments of Hindus, who make up 80% of India’s 1.4 billion people. is expected to increase.
Ayodhya, once a bustling city of crammed houses and dilapidated food stalls, has undergone an elaborate makeover in preparation for the temple’s inauguration. Narrow roads have given way to his four-lane pilgrimage routes leading to temples, tourists are arriving at new airports and expansive train stations, and major hotel chains are building new properties.
Jubilant believers from across the country have gathered to celebrate the park’s opening, with groups dancing to religious songs blaring from speakers on flower-decorated streets. Giant cutouts of Lord Ram and billboards of PM Modi are everywhere across Ayodhya, and the border has been sealed to prevent further entry. Approximately 20,000 security personnel and over 10,000 surveillance cameras are deployed.
This moment will be remembered as significant and historic for many Hindus.
“We came here to watch history unfold before our eyes. Over the centuries, the story of Lord Ram has continued to touch the hearts of millions,” the ceremony said. said Harish Joshi, who arrived in Ayodhya from Uttarakhand four days ago.
Built at an estimated cost of $217 million and spread over approximately 3 hectares (7.4 acres), the temple stands on the remains of the 16th-century Babri Mosque; The mosque was destroyed in 1992 by Hindu mobs who believed the mosque was built there. Ruins of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The site has long been a religious flashpoint for both communities, and the destruction of the mosque sparked bloody riots across India that left 2,000 people dead, most of them Muslims.
The dispute ended in 2019, with India’s Supreme Court ruling in a controversial ruling that the mosque’s destruction was a “gross violation” of the law, but said that while giving separate land to Muslims, Hindus was given land.
This troubled history remains an unresolved wound for many Muslims, who have come under increasing attack from Hindu nationalist groups in recent years, and the construction of the temple is Prime Minister Modi’s Hindu It is seen as proof of monolithic politics.
The three-story pink sandstone temple will be opened to the public after the ceremony and is expected to be visited by 100,000 devotees each day, officials said. Builders are still working to complete the 46 elaborate doors and intricate wall carvings.
But not everyone is happy. Four major Hindu religious officials refused to attend, arguing that consecrating an unfinished temple goes against Hindu scripture. Some leaders of India’s main opposition party, the Nationalist Congress Party, also boycotted the event, and many opposition members accused Modi of using the temple for political points.
Neighboring Pakistan condemned the dedication, saying a temple built on the site of a demolished mosque would be a stain on India’s democracy.
“The list of mosques (in India) under similar threat of desecration and destruction is growing,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement. He called on the international community to help save India’s Islamic heritage from “extremist groups” and ensure the rights of minorities are protected.
At least three historic mosques in northern India are embroiled in a court battle over claims by Hindu nationalists that they were built on temple ruins. Hindu nationalists have also filed lawsuits in Indian courts seeking ownership of hundreds of historic mosques.
Sarik and Pati reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writer Riazat Butt in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
