Around the nation, people are celebrating, and Ayodhya is especially joyous since today is Ram Lalla’s “Pran Pratishtha.” Leading the ceremonies at the recently constructed magnificent Ram Mandir is Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Ram Mandir will open today, four years after the historic Supreme Court ruling. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will conduct the rites for the grand occasion, which will include the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Ram Lalla, an idol of the young Lord Ram.
There will be around 7,000 attendees, including politicians, celebrities, businesspeople, saints, and over 100 delegates from other nations. Pictures from this morning revealed a number of celebrities, including South actors Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, and other superstars like Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, and others, heading to Ayodhya in advance of the major consecration event.
The Pran Pratishtha (consecration) event, chaired by Prime Minister Modi, is set to happen between 12:20 and 1 pm.
Today is a holiday or half-day in a number of states and Union territories, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir. The half-day has been proclaimed by the central government.
The National Stock Exchange and the Reserve Bank of India have both declared a holiday for the equities and money markets on Monday, thus the markets will also be closed on that day.
WHOM IS EVERYONE GOING TO BE AT RAM MANDIR TODAY?
PM Modi will be joined at the function by Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the RSS, among others. The event has also extended invitations to cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni, business magnates Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, and cricketer Virat Kohli.
Due to the extremely chilly weather, BJP leader LK Advani, who spearheaded the agitation for the Ram Mandir campaign, will not be attending the inauguration today.
RAM LALLA IDOL AND RAM MANDIR
The temple’s 380 feet in length, 250 feet in breadth, and 161 feet in height are all part of its typical Nagara style design. The 70-acre temple complex was designed by Chandrakant Sompura and his son Ashish. The main temple area is spread across 2.7 acres and has a built-up space of around 57,000 square feet. The whole construction, estimated to be about Rs 1,800 crore, has been funded by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which has received contributions totaling more than Rs 3,500 crore from both domestic and international sources.
The temple will be dedicated today, and the Ram Lalla deity made by famous Karnataka artist Arun Yogiraj will be placed there. As part of the ceremonies, the idol was placed within the sanctum sanctorum on January 18. The 51-inch black idol depicts Lord Ram as a young kid, perhaps five years old. The sanctum sanctorum of the new temple will also house the idol of Ram Lalla that has been revered for the last 70 years.
CEREMONY OF RAM LALLA CONSECRATION
Rituals leading up to Pran Pratishtha were performed between January 16 and January 21. Main ‘yajman’ PM Modi is scheduled to execute ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremonies, which are meant to give life to the idol of Ram Lalla. Lakshmikant Dixit will lead a group of priests who will supervise the principal ceremonies.
PM Modi declared on January 12 that he would start a unique 11-day “anushthaan” (rituals) that would go till January 22. PM Modi, sources said, adhered to rituals outlined in holy books, which included sleeping on the floor, drinking only coconut water, doing Gau-pooja (worshiping cows), and participating in different types of ‘daan’ including ‘annadaan’ and giving garments before the event.
VERY SECURE IN LOCATIONS
Ayodhya’s security has been stepped up in anticipation of today’s Ram Lalla temple dedication event. All of the city’s hotels are completely reserved, and VIP and VVIP participation is subject to tight guidelines.
Speaking to India Today, Prashant Kumar, the DG for Law and Order for Uttar Pradesh, stated that 13,000 troops have been sent in, and police are utilizing AI-powered CCTV to strengthen Ayodhya’s security measures. Before the “Pran Pratishtha,” up to 10,000 CCTV cameras have been placed across the city for round-the-clock surveillance. Anti-drone technology is another.
Dog squads and anti-bomb units have been stationed at the recently opened Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya, where dignitaries and devotees have been coming for the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ since yesterday.
SUMMARY OF THE RAM MANDIR DISPUTE
For generations, people have argued about the land in Ayodhya, which is said to be the birthplace of Lord Ram. Hindus hold that the Mughal ruler Babur constructed Babri Masjid in the sixteenth century on the site of an old temple that served as Lord Ram’s birthplace.
After the first violent episode over the site was documented in 1853, the British colonial government decided to build a fence in 1859 to divide the Muslim and Hindu places of worship.
After Lord Ram and Sita statues were brought into the mosque in 1949, the authorities locked the gates to ease tensions. Numerous lawsuits claiming rights over property were filed by Muslim and Hindu organizations in response to this statute.
SUMMARY OF THE RAM MANDIR DISPUTE
The legal dispute grew more intense in the 1980s, and in 1986, a court decree caused the Babri Masjid gates to open to Hindu worshippers. When a group of Hindu activists destroyed the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, it sparked widespread violence between the communities and made the legal process much more convoluted.
The contested land was split into three halves by the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 ruling: one third went to the Sunni Waqf Board, one third to the Nirmohi Akhara, and one third to the god Ram Lalla Virajman.
After this decision was contested, the Indian Supreme Court issued a historic ruling on November 9, 2019. The contested 2.77 acres of property had to be given to a trust established by the Indian government so that the Ram Mandir could be built, the court said. The court also ordered that the Sunni Waqf Board be given a different five-acre tract of land so that they can build a mosque.
by HHM