[News]Ayodhya: Transforming a flashpoint holy city into the ‘Hindu Vatican’

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On a brutally cold morning, Yogendra Guru looked adrift in a maze of traffic after visiting the heavily secured makeshift shrine where Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

Frenzied construction work provided the backdrop in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya - a vast centre to welcome pilgrims, arched sandstone gates, a broad corridor leading to a grand new $217m (£170m) temple for the Hindu deity. A multi-billion dollar makeover has seen swathes of the city bulldozed to turn it into what some Hindu nationalist leaders are calling a "Hindu Vatican".

Mr Guru had endured a gruelling 14-hour bus journey with two dozen family members who made the pilgrimage to Ayodhya from their village in Morena district in central Madhya Pradesh state.

"I am elated that we are finally getting a new temple. It seems like the Hindus have awakened, experiencing a sense of freedom. I believe we were previously suppressed," he told me.

Next week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fulfil a decades-long Hindu nationalist pledge by opening the temple, which replaces a 16th-Century mosque that once stood here, on one of India's most controversial religious sites. In 1992, Hindu mobs tore down the Babri mosque, claiming it was built by Muslim invaders on the ruins of a Ram temple, sparking nationwide riots that took nearly 2,000 lives.

 

Stretching across 7.2 acres, the three-storey shrine, clad in sandstone and anchored by granite, boasts of towering pillars

 

The stormy ownership dispute between Hindus and Muslims ended in 2019 when the Supreme Court granted the site to Hindus, despite explicitly stating that the demolition of the mosque was an "egregious violation of the rule of law". (The court gave Muslims another plot of land in Ayodhya to construct a mosque.)

Mr Modi opens the Ayodhya temple months before general elections, with his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) eyeing a record third consecutive term. He says the new temple will "unify the nation". Senior minister Rajnath Singh believes the shrine would mark "the beginning of India's cultural revival and restore national pride".

Critics say the timing of the opening leans more towards political strategy than religious significance, building a Hindu nationalist momentum ahead of the polls. After all, they argue, the movement to build a temple was a major factor in propelling the BJP to a prominent position in Indian politics.

"After enduring life in a tent, Lord Ram has now found a rightful abode. It's been a test of patience for all of us," said Satyendra Das, the 86-year-old head priest of the makeshift shrine, where a smaller idol of Ram had been placed for the past three decades.

The new temple is as grand as it gets. Stretching across 7.2 acres in a 70-acre complex, the imposing three-storey structure, clad in pink sandstone and anchored by black granite, boasts towering pillars and rests upon 70,000 sq ft (6,503 sq m) of pristine white marble. A 51-inch (4.25-ft) idol of Ram will be placed on a marble pedestal.

When fully complete - Mr Modi will be opening only the ground floor on 22 January - by the end of the year, the temple will expect to greet a staggering 150,000 visitors per day, seven times the current rate.

 

Ayodhya's makeover includes a shiny new airport...

 

...and a massive new railway station

 

To make all this happen, Mr Modi's government is pulling out all the stops to transform Ayodhya, a tranquil pilgrim town on the banks of Saryu, a tributary of the Ganges, to what officials call a "world class city where people come as pilgrims and tourists".

The $3.85bn (£3.01bn) makeover includes expanded roads, a shiny new airport, a massive railway station, and a multi-level car park. More than 3,000 homes, shops and "structures of religious nature" have been either completely or partially demolished to facilitate the widening of four main roads, including the newly christened 13km (8-mile) Ram Path, leading to the temple. A lighter yellow paint now gives the buildings a uniform, bland look.

Hotel chains like Radisson and Taj are building new properties; up to 50 new hotels and homestays are planned, while scores of grubby guesthouses are receiving facelifts. Not surprisingly, land prices have already trebled.

"You can't recognise the place, it's changed so much now. There's actually a bit of shock and awe that all this has happened," said Valay Singh, author of Ayodhya: City of Faith, City of Discord, who has been visiting the the city since 2016.

There are also plans for additional attractions surrounding the new temple, including a heritage walk featuring 162 murals depicting Ram's life, a facility on a Saryu river island offering "insights into the Vedic civilisation", and the creation of a wedding city and developing the place as a naturopathy centre.

"We want to create the most beautiful city in the world," says Gaurav Dayal, Ayodhya's most senior official.

 

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