Chicago – January 23, 2024
The Grand Ram Mandir was built after destroying 12 Masajid and many Mandirs because of its expansion and the expansion of the road leading to the Mandir.
The Indian Government spent 624 million rupees in building the road leading to Ram Mandir. The road was previously only 10 feet wide which was expanded to 40 meter after 2020.
Many shops, buildings and houses were demolished to build the road.
The site is the former location of the Babri Masjid which was built in 16th century CE. The idols of Rama and Sita were placed in the mosque in 1949, before it was attacked and demolished in 1992. In 2019, the Supreme Court of India delivered the verdict to give the disputed land to Hindus for construction of a temple, while Muslims would be given land elsewhere to construct a mosque. The court referenced a report from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as evidence suggesting the presence of a structure beneath the demolished Babri Masjid, that was found to be non-Islamic.
On 5 August 2020, the Bhumi Pujan (transl. ground breaking ceremony) for the commencement of the construction of Ram Mandir was performed by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. The temple, currently under construction, is being supervised by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. On 22 January 2024, Modi served as the Mukhya Yajman (transl. chief patron) of rituals for the event and performed the Prana Pratishtha (transl. consecration) of Ram Lalla. The Prana Pratishtha ceremony was organised by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.
The temple has attracted a number of controversies due to alleged misuse of donation, sidelining of its major activists and politicisation of the temple by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
