Why the Ayodhya Ram temple matters

The 22nd of January 2024 saw an extraordinary celebration of exuberant splendour as the Ram Mandir was inaugurated in Ayodhya. India’s stock market was shut for the day, government offices were only open for half a day as the country celebrated the consecration of Ram Lalla amidst much fanfare.

The event was attended by 3,000 plus people including the top brass of the country’s leadership as well as celebrities from the film industry, music industry, the sporting world and pretty much all the important names in India’s little black book.

The Pran Pratishtha was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ‘yajman’, in the presence of 4,000 sadhus, as Hindus all over the world celebrated the grand Ram Mandir estimated to have cost Rs1,800 crore, on a site believed to have been the birthplace of Lord Ram.