New Delhi: The Ram Lalla idol at the under construction Ram Mandir in Ayodhya – on the site where the Babri Masjid once stood – was consecrated on Monday (January 22), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking centre stage during the rituals. He was joined by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath and Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel.
The pran pratishtha ceremony began at 12:20 pm and lasted for around eight minutes, followed by prayers. The unveiled Ram Lalla idol is 51 inches tall and was heavily adorned with jewellery for the ceremony. It was designed by sculptor Arun Yogiraj from Mysuru.
The temple complex is not expected to be complete until 2025. Only the first phase of construction is complete so far.
Throughout the ceremony live telecast across news channels and social media pages, Modi, Bhagwat, Adityanath and Patel took centre stage, with the camera largely focused on Modi throughout.
A number of celebrities and high profile individuals, including film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Rajkumar Hirani, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Ayushman Khurrana, Rajinikanth, Dhanush, Ram Charan and Chiranjeevi, attended the event. Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan and Anuradha Paudwal performed at the ceremony.
Scholars and experts have opined that Modi’s active role in a religious ceremony could mean that the “principled distance” between the state and religion – as set out in India’s foundation as a secular nation – is obfuscated. “We have somebody who is acting like the king and has announced that divinity is passing through him or he is chosen by God, by the divine voice to perform this ceremony. This is a total subsumption of religion by politics. The line between the religion and the state has been broken down and is breaking down entirely at the initiative of the state which is dictating how religion and religious ceremonies are to be conducted,” political scientist Rajeev Bhargava told The Wire.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP chief minister Adityanath, UP governor Anandiben Patel and others at the consecration ceremony. Photo: Screengrab from DD News
After the prayers, the priests and political leaders who were involved stepped out to the large crowd of invited guests in the temple complex.
Govind Dev Giri Ji Maharaj, who is treasurer-trustee of the Shri Ram Janambhumi Tirth Kshetra Trust, said Modi’s devotion to rites reminds him of “just one other king – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj”.
Listing the rituals Modi has maintained ahead of the consecration ceremony, including fasting and sleeping on the floor, he said he “reconfirmed” from Modi’s mother that this is a habit he has had for 40 years.
Breaking down at several points, Govind Dev also cited the “political climate” of the day without elaborating on it.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath said it is as if we have returned to the Treta Yug – the second best of the four mythical slots of time observed in Hinduism. “This is the first time that a majority of a nation put in so much effort over such a long period of time to get a temple in this manner,” said Adityanath. He spoke of “sacrifices” Hindus have made, apparently coming together across caste and community, to make this temple a reality.
“People’s sacrifice has borne fruit because the temple was built exactly where we had thought it would be built,” said, using the famous Hindi phrase, ‘Mandir wahi banayenge,’ which was popularised by the Sangh parivar in the run up to the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and afterwards. He credited Modi with this becoming possible, saying it was with his election win in 2014 that Hindus were able to achieve this dream.
This holy land will be the cultural capital of the world, Adityanath claimed. “The double engine government has made all dreams of Ayodhya real,” he said, listing all the avenues in which the Modi government at the Union and his, in the state, have apparently made the city new.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also spoke of the stringent vows kept by Narendra Modi. “He is an ascetic, I know,” he said.”Ram Lalla has come to Ayodhya. Why did he go from Ayodhya? Ayodhya is that land where there is no confusion, no strife. After his 14-year-exile, Ram returned to Ayodhya after solving the strife of the world. Now, he has returned after 500 years…This history is so strong that whoever makes sacrifices for Ram Rajya – all of their worries go away,” Bhagwat said.
Bhagwat appeared to stress on duty, in line with what the government has also espoused. He then quoted Mahatma Gandhi on greed and discipline.
“Today our Ram has come. After ages of wait, our Ram has come,” Modi said, when he finally took the podium, congratulating everyone on this feat.
“I have a lot to say but my voice is choking. My heart is stopping. Our Ram Lalla won’t stay in a tent any more. Our Ram Lalla is going to be in a temple now. I believe and have faith in the fact that what has been formed is being felt in by Ram worshippers in all corners of the world and country,” he added.
January 22, 2024, is not a day on the calendar but it is the beginning of a new kaal chakra – a cycle of time, Modi claimed. “We have broken the mind-frame of slavery and embraced a new history. A thousand years from now, people will think of this date,” Modi said, repeating his oft-used description of India’s Mughal rule as a time of ‘slavery’.
Modi said he would like to ask Ram for forgiveness because the wait had been so long, over so many centuries.
The whole country is celebrating Deepavali today, Modi also said.
Modi thanked the judiciary for clearing the way for the temple. “The legal battle over the existence of Lord Ram went on for decades. I would like to express my gratitude to the judiciary of India for doing justice,” he said. Modi also notably named kar sevaks in a list of groups he thanked for this present moment. Kar sevaks, the term for Sangh Parivar foot soldiers, had brought the Babri Masjid down at the same spot in 1992.