AYODHYA, India (RNS) — Once a quaint, if historically and religiously significant, village, this 2,500-year-old city in northern India has been transformed into a global pilgrimage site befitting the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram.Cobbled streets are being widened to hold tourist buses and VIP vehicles. Storefronts are uniformly being painted with the saffron emblem of Lord Ram. At worksites blaring Hindu-nationalist-themed pop music, laborers from across the country are building throughout the night. At the center of the face-lift is a long-anticipated temple honoring Ram, one of Hinduism’s most treasured deities, said in the Sanskrit epic the Ramayama to have been born here.
“This is a gift for Hindus of this nation and all around the world,” said Manmeet Gupta, a local TV news reporter. “Because after 500 years of struggle, they can finally see Ram lalla (infant) installed in his rightful birthplace.”
But the new temple, which will be the third-largest Hindu place of worship in the world, is a triumph too for the Hindu nationalist movement that in many ways was born in Ayodhya 30 years ago, when a Hindu mob tore down a mosque that occupied the site.
RELATED: India’s Hindu nationalists vow to restore deity’s birthplace to former glory
Hindu fundamentalists stand on top of one of the three domes of the Babri mosque in Ayodhy …
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“This is a gift for Hindus of this nation and all around the world,” said Manmeet Gupta, a local TV news reporter. “Because after 500 years of struggle, they can finally see Ram lalla (infant) installed in his rightful birthplace.”
But the new temple, which will be the third-largest Hindu place of worship in the world, is a triumph too for the Hindu nationalist movement that in many ways was born in Ayodhya 30 years ago, when a Hindu mob tore down a mosque that occupied the site.
RELATED: India’s Hindu nationalists vow to restore deity’s birthplace to former glory
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