Indian government to open Hindu temple on ruins of Babri Masjid

Narendra Modi, India’s nationalist Prime Minister, will soon fulfill a decade-old election promise months out from nationwide polls with the announcement that a controversial new Hindu temple will open on disputed land in January.

The first detailed descriptions of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir were released on Thursday, displaying the extravagantly decorated structure that is being built on the site of the Babri Masjid that was destroyed by right-wing Hindu mobs in 1992.

Located in the holy city of Ayodhya in the electorally significant state of Uttar Pradesh, the temple’s interiors will be adorned with gold bars and artwork that are supposed to celebrates India’s diversity.

The opening of this ornate temple is expected to give Modi’s party a boost in the lead up to the election, making true on a promise he made to his supporters nearly a decade ago.

Nripendra Misra, chairman of the temple’s construction committee, says the temple’s construction is expected to cost about 15 billion rupees ($180 million), but Hindus have already donated about 30 billion rupees ($361 million) for the complex.

Muslims claim ownership of the land because the mosque was built there in 1528. But many Hindus believe the Babri Masjid was built on the ruins of a Hindu temple, which was allegedly destroyed by Babar, the first Mughal emperor of South Asia.

It is worth mentioning that in 2019, after a lengthy legal battle, India’s Supreme Court granted Hindus permission to build the temple on the contested site, ending the dispute.

Although this was seen as a victory for Modi and his supporters, many Muslims did not approve of the verdict, but decided to concede in order not to fuel further ethnic differences or civil bloodshed.