The Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir temple in Ayodhya is about to be inaugurated, and the excitement is palpable. Lavish gifts began arriving in the Indian city, in preparation for this event long awaited by Hindus. The temple, which is not yet fully completed, is the result of a long-standing promise by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build a Hindu temple on the site of a mosque destroyed by Hindu rioters over 30 years ago.
However, this inauguration ceremony is highly controversial. While many Hindus will rejoice at its inauguration, the country’s Muslim minority fears it will reinforce deepening religious divisions under Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
What is happening in Ayodhya on Monday?
During the ceremony, a statue of Lord Ram, one of Hinduism’s most revered deities, will be unveiled inside the temple, in a celebration led by Modi and broadcast to millions. More than 7,000 people were invited to attend the ceremony in person, including high-profile political figures from across the country.
Around 100 chartered planes are expected in Ayodhya on Monday, with hotel prices soaring and last-minute bookings costing more than $1,200 a day, according to local media.
Since January 16, priests have performed prayers and rituals as workers transferred the statue into the temple complex. BJP leaders have given numerous television interviews about the events, with Indian television channels broadcasting around-the-clock coverage of the temple festivities.
The ceremony is also expected to be broadcast abroad at Indian embassies and on huge television screens in New York’s Times Square.
Before the event, Modi fasts and prays in an 11-day ritual steeped in Hindu religious symbolism.
Why is the Ram Mandir so controversial?
The temple site was once home to the Babri Masjid, a 16th-century mosque built during Mughal rule in India. However, many Hindus believe that the Babri Masjid was built on the ruins of a Hindu temple, destroyed by Babur, the first Mughal emperor of South Asia.
The site holds great significance to Hindus, as they believe it to be the birthplace of Lord Ram, now honored with the construction of the new Ram Mandir.
Hindu nationalist groups have long campaigned for the destruction of the mosque in order to build a temple in its place. In 1992, encouraged by the BJP and other far-right groups, Hindu extremists attacked her with hammers, sparking widespread communal violence..
Dozens of temples and mosques were also targeted in a series of reprisal attacks that left more than 2,000 people dead across the country.
The violence was some of the worst seen in India since the bloody clashes that accompanied partition after independence in 1947.
Over the next few years, Hindu nationalists mobilized to build the Ram Mandir on the site of the destroyed mosque, sparking an emotional and politically charged clash that lasted decades.
In 2019, India’s Supreme Court allowed Hindus to build the temple on the disputed site, ending the dispute.
The decision was seen as a victory for Modi and his supporters, but was seen as a blow to many Muslims for whom the destruction of the Babri Masjid remains a source of deep tension and loss.
What is Modi’s role in the temple?
Modi came to power in 2014 with a promise to reform the country’s economy and usher in a new era of development, but throughout his political career he has also strongly supported the Hindutva agenda, an ideology that values that India should become a land for Hindus.
Once in power, Modi’s party mobilized to build the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a promise made to his grassroots voters, a move seen by many as favoring the country’s Hindu majority.
When the Supreme Court delivered its verdict four years ago, Modi said the decision had “brought a new dawn” to the nation and would lead to “the creation of a new India”.
Critics say Hindu nationalist politicians have moved India away from its secular founding principles and that the construction of the temple in Ayodhya is the culmination of their multi-decade campaign to transform the country.
The opening of the temple next week is expected to further boost Hindu nationalism and strengthen support for Modi and his party ahead of the upcoming elections. However, this will only further deepen religious and ethnic divisions in the country, leaving the Muslim minority feeling marginalized and excluded.
The inauguration also raises questions about India’s secularism and the protection of minority rights. India is a diverse country with a rich and complex history, but it is essential that all religious communities feel respected and represented in the political and social landscape. The construction of the temple should be an occasion for celebration, but it must not come at the expense of social cohesion and equal rights for all Indian citizens.