Many Indian states declared the day as a holiday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who presided over the event, said the opening of the temple ushered in a “new era”.
There was a huge spectacle in India on Monday when a temple built in honor of the Hindu god Rama was opened in the holy city of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The inauguration of the controversial temple is a historic event for India’s Hindu majority. Hindus believe that the temple is built on the birthplace of Lord Rama.
Prime minister Narendra Modi presided over the opening ceremony of the temple. At the same time, he fulfilled a campaign promise made by his Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, more than 30 years ago to build a temple.
Modi gave a speech after the ceremony. He said that January 22, 2024 is the beginning of a “new era”.
– Our Lord Rama has arrived after centuries of waiting, Modi said, according to news agency AP.
He said the temple was built after “countless sacrifices” and is proof that a rising India is “breaking the shackles of the slave mentality”.
The location of the temple has been the subject of a bitter dispute between Hindus and Muslims for decades. According to Hindus, Muslim conquerors had destroyed the original Rama temple on the site and built the Babur Mosque in its place in the 16th century.
Radical Hindu groups demolished the Babur Mosque in 1992.
According to political analysts, the temple opening ceremony served as an unofficial launch of Modi’s re-election campaign. India is scheduled to hold general elections in April-May. Modi is seeking a rare third term as prime minister.
Party buzz in the streets
Thousands of people attended the opening ceremony of the temple in Ayodhya. Among them were politicians, public figures and influencers from the business world. More than 10,000 police officers monitored the security of the city.
People from different parts of India danced in the streets and chanted religious slogans. A military helicopter dropped flower petals on the crowd gathered in front of the temple.
– This is a source of pride for all Hindus, said someone who arrived from Modi’s home state of Gujarat Mewaram Prajapati according to news agency Reuters.
18 years old Vijay Kumar told news agency AFP that he had traveled to Ayodhya for four days by walking and hitchhiking for the inauguration.
– We just wanted to show up. We hope to see the temple before we leave,” Kumar said.
Millions of Indians watched the ceremony on television and news channels covered the event non-stop. Many states declared the day a holiday and the Indian stock market remained closed.
Different events were also organized in other cities in honor of the opening of the temple.
Several leaders of the largest opposition party, the Congress Party of India, boycotted the event. They accused Modi of exploiting the temple to score political points.
During his ten-year reign, Modi has sought to turn India from a secular democracy into a Hindu state.
Controversy has a dark history
Rama is a central figure in the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana. It tells the story of Prince Rama, who is an incarnation of the god Vishnu.
In 1990, Modi’s party, the BJP, launched a campaign to build a Rama temple in place of the Babur mosque. Modi was already involved in the party’s activities as a rank-and-file and participated in campaign work.
The demolition of the mosque led to major religious riots across India. About 2,000 people died in the unrest. Most of them were Muslims.
The video below shows scenes from the events of that time.
The tense history of the place is still painful for many Muslims. They see the construction of the temple as a sign that Modi is putting the Hindu majority ahead of the minorities.
The Supreme Court of India decided in 2019 that a Hindu temple can be built on the site of the destroyed mosque. The condition was that Muslims would be given a replacement plot of land for the construction of a new mosque.
The construction of the Rama temple began in 2020. Prime Minister Modi participated in the laying of the foundation stone.
The temple’s management expects about a hundred thousand people to visit the site per day for the next few months.
Sources: AFP, AP, Reuters