India PM Opens Hindu Temple On Razed Mosque Site

India’s PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated a grand temple to Hindu god Ram in the flashpoint city of Ayodhya.

The temple replaces a 16th-Century mosque razed by Hindu mobs in 1992. The demolition had sparked nationwide riots in which nearly 2,000 people died.

However, most of the opposition boycotted it, saying Modi was using it for political gains.

General elections are due in India in the next few months and Mr Modi’s political rivals say the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be seeking votes in the temple’s name in a country where 80% of the population is Hindu.

A protracted legal battle about the ownership of the land followed the mosque’s demolition. It was resolved in 2019 when the Supreme Court gave the disputed land to the Hindus. Muslims were given a plot outside the city to build a mosque.

In Ayodhya, some Muslims said before the event that the day evoked fear and painful memories for them. Some said they would send their children out of the city, fearing tensions might be stoked when the streets filled with Hindu devotees from around the country.

BBC