The temple is being constructed in the spot where a centuries old mosque was located until its demolition by Hindu radicals.
The Indian city of Ayodhya is prepared for the inauguration of the Ram Temple today, which will count with the presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The temple is believed to be located at the birthplace of Lord Ram, a revered Hindu god with millions of followers. The event comes ahead of a national election in India, where Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking a third consecutive term.
Some opposition leaders have accused the BJP of using the temple ceremony as a campaign stunt, as the temple is not yet complete and construction will continue after the ceremony. The opposition coalition, called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), has announced its boycott of the temple inauguration.
Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh state, has undergone a major makeover for the occasion, with new infrastructure projects such as roads, airport, railway station, and car park.
The India Meteorological Department has also launched a special website to provide weather updates for Ayodhya. About 8,000 guests have been invited to the ceremony, including prominent figures from business, sports, and entertainment industries.
The Ram Temple stands on the site where the Babri Masjid, or Mosque of Babur, once existed for centuries until it was demolished in 1992 by Hindu radicals who wanted to assert India’s Hindu identity. The destruction of the mosque triggered violent clashes across India, resulting in the deaths of around 2,000 people, mostly Muslims.
In 2019, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favor of the Hindus and allowed the construction of the temple on the disputed site. Muslims living in Ayodhya have expressed their anguish over the temple opening, saying it will remind them of the horrors of the past.
However, the temple fulfills a long-standing promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Gilles Verniers, a senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research (CPR), said that the temple inauguration could boost the BJP’s chances in the upcoming elections.
He told DW that the temple consecration signifies the end of a decade-long campaign to reclaim a contested site as Hindu territory, and the beginning of a state-sponsored project to build a Hindu nation.
He added that the temple inauguration will also embolden similar campaigns that aim to replace Muslim sites with Hindu ones in India, such as the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura, creating more friction between India’s two largest religious groups.
