Why is India’s Ram Mandir in Ayodhya contentious?

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the opening of the grand temple of the Hindu god Lord Ram in Ayodhya, India, January 22, 2024. (India's Press Information Bureau/REUTERS)
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Updated 22 January 2024
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Why is India’s Ram Mandir in Ayodhya contentious?

  • Temple replaces a 16th-century Mughal-era mosque razed by radical Hindu groups in 1992
  • Razed mosque is believed by many Hindus to have been built on the spot where Ram was born

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the consecration on Monday of a grand temple to the Hindu god-king Ram on a site believed to be his birthplace, in a historic event for the Hindu majority of the world’s most populous nation.
Coming months before Modi seeks a rare third term in general elections due by May, the event delivers on a campaign promise his political party made more than three decades ago, but also calls to mind some of India’s worst sectarian strife.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?
The idol represents Ram as a five-year-old child, as many Hindus consider the temple site to have been the deity’s birthplace and where he spent his childhood.
As the temple replaces a 16th-century Mughal-era mosque razed by radical Hindu groups in 1992, many Indians hail it as a sign of Hindu reawakening from centuries of foreign subjugation, including rule by Muslim dynasties such as the Mughals.
Analysts say Modi’s leadership of the ceremony symbolizes for supporters of his Hindu nationalist party that India is finally ready to end what they call appeasement of minorities and move toward their goal of building a Hindu-first nation.

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF THE NEW TEMPLE?
Construction began in 2020, with Modi laying the foundation stone of the temple to one of Hinduism’s principal deities on a 2.7-acre (one-hectare) plot within a complex that sprawls over 70 acres (28 hectares).
Supervised by a panel headed by Modi’s former chief of staff Nripendra Misra, construction cost an estimated 15 billion rupees ($181 million), funded by contributions amounting to more than twice that from 40 million people in India.

WHAT WAS THE RELIGIOUS DISPUTE ABOUT?
The Indian epic, the Ramayana, mentions Ayodhya, a town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh nearly 700 km (435 miles) east of New Delhi, as the birthplace of Ram, whom Hindus believe to be a physical incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
The razed mosque dating from 1528, during the rule of Babur, India’s first Mughal emperor, is believed by many Hindus to have been built on the spot where Ram was born, following the demolition of an earlier temple there.
In Dec. 1949, authorities seized the mosque after Hindu activists placed idols of Ram inside the disputed structure. Court orders barred removal of the idols, and use as a mosque effectively ceased.
Hindu and Muslim groups filed separate claims over the site and the structure. In 1989, a high court ordered the maintenance of status quo.

HOW WAS THE MOSQUE RAZED?
Hindu and Muslim groups tried unsuccessfully to resolve the dispute through talks, before Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a nationwide campaign in 1990 to build the temple.
Lal Krishna Advani, the president of the party at the time, embarked on a cross-country journey on a truck fitted out to resemble an ancient chariot.
It whipped up Hindu fervor, deepening rifts with Muslims but also catapulting the party to national prominence.
The BJP campaign climaxed in a rally in Ayodhya on Dec. 6, 1992, when a mob climbed the mosque and smashed its domes with axes and hammers, levelling the entire structure.
The event triggered sectarian riots in several parts of India, killing about 2,000 people, mostly Muslims.
Muslims are a minority in mainly Hindu India, making up about 14 percent of its 1.42 billion people.
As a foot soldier of the party at the time, Modi helped organize the chariot’s journey, which began in his home state of Gujarat.
He rode to the office of prime minister in 2014 on a Hindu nationalist platform that included the promise to build the temple.
Temple construction began after the Supreme Court permitted it in 2019 on condition that Muslims received another plot for a mosque.


Putin says China is Russia’s ally, backs its stance on Taiwan

Updated 3 sec ago
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Putin says China is Russia’s ally, backs its stance on Taiwan

  • The two countries have not declared a formal military alliance, but have signed a ‘no limits’ partnership deal in 2022
  • Putin suggested that Taiwan was trying to stir up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia in order to attract outside support
SOCHI, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin described China on Thursday as Russia’s ally and threw his weight behind Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, while stating that no countries had anything to fear from deepening Sino-Russian co-operation.
The two countries have not declared a formal military alliance, but Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a “no limits” partnership deal in 2022, less than three weeks before Putin sent his troops into Ukraine.
In May this year they agreed to deepen what they called their “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” for a new era.
“We do not believe that China is pursuing an aggressive policy in the region,” Putin said at the Valdai discussion club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
He suggested that Taiwan was trying to stir up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia in order to attract outside support.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite strong objections by the government in Taipei, and regularly holds wargames near the island.
“A lot is going on around Taiwan,” Putin said. “Everyone formally acknowledges, yes, Taiwan is part of China. But in reality? In reality, it is acting in a completely different direction. Provoking the situation toward escalation.
“We do support China. And because of this, we believe that (China) is conducting a completely reasonable policy. And also because it is our ally. We have a very large trade turnover, we co-operate in the security sector.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said China and Russia were the real problem.
“The regime of Russia’s Putin launched a war of aggression against Ukraine, leading to misery for Ukraine’s people and sanctions and condemnation from the international community,” it said in a statement.
“China and Russia together continue to undermine the rule-based international order and have become a serious threat to world peace and stability.”
Putin compared military drills between Russia and China to those the United States holds with Japan.
“These exercises do not threaten anyone,” Putin said. “They are aimed at ensuring our security.”

Swiss ‘burqa ban,’ condemned by Muslims, to take effect from Jan. 1, 2025

Updated 51 min 38 sec ago
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Swiss ‘burqa ban,’ condemned by Muslims, to take effect from Jan. 1, 2025

  • Anyone who unlawfully flouts the ban faces a fine of up to $1,144
  • Facial coverings remain permitted for reasons relating to health, safety

ZURICH: A contentious Swiss prohibition on facial coverings in public spaces widely known as the “burqa ban” will take effect on Jan. 1, the government said on Wednesday.
Narrowly passed in a 2021 referendum in neutral Switzerland, and condemned by Muslim associations, the measure was launched by the same group that organized a 2009 ban on new minarets.
The governing Federal Council said in a statement it had fixed the start of the ban, and that anyone who unlawfully flouts it faces a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,144).
The ban does not apply to planes or in diplomatic and consular premises, and faces may also be covered in places of worship and other sacred sites, the government said.
Facial coverings will remain permitted for reasons relating to health and safety, for native customs, or due to weather conditions, it said. They would also be allowed on artistic and entertainment grounds and for advertising, it added.
If such coverings are needed for personal protection in exercising freedom of expression and assembly, they should be permitted provided the responsible authority has already approved them and public order is not compromised, it said.
 


Two separatist militants, two government-run militia members killed in Indian-administered Kashmir

Updated 58 min 29 sec ago
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Two separatist militants, two government-run militia members killed in Indian-administered Kashmir

  • Militants in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989
  • Many support rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as independent country

NEW DELHI: Two suspected militants were killed in a gunfight with government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir, officials said Friday, while assailants killed two members of a government-sponsored militia elsewhere in the disputed region.
The region, divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety, has experienced an increase in violence in recent weeks.
The Indian military said a joint team of soldiers and police raided a village near northwestern Sopore town late Thursday following a tip about the presence of a group of militants.
The militants “fired indiscriminately” at the troops, leading to a gunbattle in which two were killed, the military said in a statement.
Troops were continuing to search the area, it said. There was no independent confirmation of the incident.
Meanwhile, assailants killed two members of a government-run militia called the “Village Defense Group” in the remote southern Kishtwar area late Thursday, officials said.
Police blamed rebels fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir for the killings.
The two were abducted from a forested area where they had gone to graze cattle on Thursday. Their bodies were found late Thursday, police said.
The militia was initially formed in the 1990s as a defense against anti-India insurgents in remote Himalayan villages that government forces could not reach quickly. As the insurgency waned in their areas and as some militia members gained notoriety for brutality and rights violations, the militia was largely disbanded.
However last year, after the killing of seven Hindus in two attacks in a remote mountainous village near the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, authorities revived the militia and began rearming and training thousands of villagers, including some teenagers.
The Kashmir Tigers, which Indian officials say is an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, claimed responsibility for the killings of the two in a statement on social media. The statement could not be independently verified.
Militants in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is “Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.” Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
 


Philippine president signs new laws to assert South China Sea rights, sovereignty

Updated 08 November 2024
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Philippine president signs new laws to assert South China Sea rights, sovereignty

  • China summons Philippine ambassador to lodge solemn representations over the new laws
  • Unclear if laws could reduce incidents with China in Manila’s exclusive economic zone

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws on Friday aimed at strengthening the country’s maritime claims and bolstering its territorial integrity, as tensions with China over disputed areas in the South China Sea persist.
The Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act would define the Philippines’ maritime entitlements and set designated sea lanes and air routes to reinforce sovereignty and maritime rights under international law.
China has summoned the Philippine ambassador to lodge solemn representations over two new laws, its foreign ministry said on Friday.
Marcos hailed the laws as a demonstration of the Philippines’ commitment to uphold an international rules-based order, and protect its rights to exploit resources peacefully in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Our people, especially our fisher folk, should be able to pursue their livelihood free from uncertainty and harassment,” Marcos said. “We must be able to harness mineral and energy resources in our sea bed.”
While the two laws were envisioned to help US ally the Philippines to monitor and defend against potential encroachment, questions remain about how they will be enforced and if they will impact Chinese activity in the Philippine EEZ.
China asserts its claim of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea through an armada of coast guard ships, some of which are accused by its neighbors of aggressive conduct and of trying to disrupt energy and fisheries activity in their EEZs.
Senator Francis Tolentino, one of the authors of the maritime zones measure, said he does not expect tensions in Philippine EEZ will be instantly reduced with the implementation of the new laws.
“China will not recognize these, but the imprimatur that we’ll be getting from the international community would strengthen our position,” Tolentino told a press conference.
China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new laws and senator’s remarks.
Tolentino also said the laws would reinforce a 2016 arbitration ruling on the South China Sea, which declared China’s expansive claims had no basis under international law. China has rejected the 2016 decision.


Hungary PM Orban says Europe cannot finance Ukraine war alone

Updated 08 November 2024
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Hungary PM Orban says Europe cannot finance Ukraine war alone

  • Viktor Orban: ‘The Americans will quit this war, first of all they will not encourage the war’

BUDAPEST: The United States under the presidency of Donald Trump will “quit” the war in Ukraine and Europe cannot finance this war alone, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday before an informal summit of EU leaders in Budapest.
“The Americans will quit this war, first of all they will not encourage the war,” Orban said. “Europe cannot finance this war alone ... some still want to continue sending enormous amounts of money into this lost war but the number of those who remain silent ...and those who cautiously voice that we should adjust to the new situation, is growing.”