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☆ India election: Modi’s Muslim remarks spark ‘hate speech’ accusations as mammoth vote deepens divides
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of delivering Islamophobic remarks during an election rally Sunday, triggering widespread anger from prominent Muslims and members of the opposition. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking during a rally in Sydney, Australia, on May 23, 2023. Kalpit Bhachech/Getty Images Narendra Modi, then BJP secretary is welcomed at Ahmedabad Railway Station by the party's followers on January 31, 1992. Kalpit Bhachech/Dipam Bhachech/Getty Images Narendra Modi pictured in India on January 23, 1998. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg/Getty Images India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2023.

Persons: CNN —, Narendra Modi, Islamophobic, Modi’s, Modi, ”, ” Modi, Matthew Abbott, Hiraben, Damodardas, Dipam Bhachech, Lal Krishna Advani, Subhas Chandra Bose, Kalpit Bhachech, Kalpit, Negi Yasbant, Amit Dave, Ajit Solanki, Kevin Frayer, Saurabh Das, AP Modi, Manish Swarup, Lucas Jackson, Barack Obama, Adrien Helou, Reuters Modi, Adnan Abidi, Stringer, Mark Zuckerberg, David Paul Morris, Marco Longari, Angela Merkel, Tobias Schwarz, Emmanuel Macron, Charles Platiau, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, India's, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Amit Shah, Money Sharma, Boris Johnson, Phil Noble, Anthony Albanese, Brent Lewin, Pedro Ugarte, Joe Biden, Doug Mills, Paul Mashatile, Jacoline, Imtiyaz Khan, Amr Alfiky, Rana Ayyub, Asaduddin Owaisi, “ Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge Organizations: CNN, CNN — India’s, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, of India, India's, New York Times, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Getty, Modi, Hospital, Narendra, India Today, AP, Madison, Garden, Reuters, Washington , D.C, French National Space Agency, of Yoga, Meta, Facebook, Bloomberg, European, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kyodo, British, Summit, Qudos Bank, White, Anadolu Agency, Anadolu, United, United Arab Emirates, Sangh, Hindu, “, Hate Locations: Rajasthan, Sydney, Australia, Gujarat, India, Ahmedabad, Ahmadabad, Varanasi, New Delhi, United States, Washington, Washington ,, Toulouse, France, Xian, AFP, Menlo Park , California, U.S, Pretoria, South Africa, China, Berlin, Paris, Rashtrapati, Russian, Brasilia, Glasgow, Red, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Abu Dhabi, United Arab, BJP, “

☆ In India’s 2024 election, BJP’s main opposition appears increasingly weak in face of Modi juggernaut
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Helen Regan | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

Supporters of India's opposition party, Indian National Congress, during an election rally in Puducherry on April 15, 2024 R. Satish Babu/AFP/Getty ImagesDemocracy under threat? Dipam Bhachech/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Modi worked his way through the ranks of the BJP, establishing himself as a respected politician. Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images Modi hugs French President Emmanuel Macron after a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, on June 3, 2017. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg/Getty Images India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2023. Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images Modi offers a toast during a State Dinner with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, on June 22, 2023.

Persons: ”, Narendra Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Indira Gandhi, Gandhi, ” Hazari Lal Rajput, Satish Babu, Modi, Modi’s, Matthew Abbott, Hiraben, Damodardas, Dipam Bhachech, Lal Krishna Advani, Subhas Chandra Bose, Kalpit Bhachech, Kalpit, Negi Yasbant, Amit Dave, Ajit Solanki, Kevin Frayer, Saurabh Das, AP Modi, Manish Swarup, Lucas Jackson, Barack Obama, Adrien Helou, Reuters Modi, Adnan Abidi, Stringer, Mark Zuckerberg, David Paul Morris, Marco Longari, Angela Merkel, Tobias Schwarz, Emmanuel Macron, Charles Platiau, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, India's, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Amit Shah, Money Sharma, Boris Johnson, Phil Noble, Anthony Albanese, Brent Lewin, Pedro Ugarte, Joe Biden, Doug Mills, Paul Mashatile, Jacoline, Imtiyaz Khan, Amr Alfiky, Arati Jerath, “, it’s, Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira, India’s, Jawaharlal Nehru, gunning, ” Modi, shouldn’t, Mohammad Irfan, —, Arvind Kejriwal, Altaf Qadri, Kejriwal, Atishi, you’re, Jerath, Gandhi ‘, ’ Modi, Christophe Jaffrelot, CNN Modi, Rasheed Kidwai, Rahul, Diptendu Dutta, Mamata Banerjee, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, ” Kidwai, ” Jerath Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, Getty, Democracy, Modi’s BJP, Pew, New York Times, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Modi, Hospital, Narendra, India Today, AP, India's, Madison, Garden, Reuters, Washington , D.C, French National Space Agency, of Yoga, Meta, Facebook, Bloomberg, European, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kyodo, British, Summit, Qudos Bank, White, Anadolu Agency, Anadolu, United, United Arab Emirates, Developmental Inclusive Alliance, Indian, Aadmi Party, Delhi, AAP, Aam Aadmi Party, All, Trinamool, West, All India, Congress, “, “ Democracy Locations: India, Uttar Pradesh, Ramlila, Puducherry, Modi’s, Sydney, Australia, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, Ahmadabad, Varanasi, New Delhi, United States, Washington, Washington ,, Toulouse, France, Xian, AFP, Menlo Park , California, U.S, Pretoria, South Africa, China, Berlin, Paris, Rashtrapati, Russian, Brasilia, Glasgow, Red, Ayodhya, Abu Dhabi, United Arab, INDIA, Delhi, India’s, Lok Sabha, Atishi, ”, Manipur, Siliguri, West Bengal, Tamil

☆ Modi’s Hindu Utopia Is a Tawdry Mirage - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Siddhartha Deb | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sleepy pilgrimage city of Ayodhya in northern India was once home to a grand 16th-century mosque, until it was illegally demolished by a howling mob of Hindu militants in 1992. The site has since been reinvented as the centerpiece of the Hindu-chauvinist “new India” promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I traveled to Ayodhya a year later and watched as the temple was hurriedly being built. Mr. Modi’s Hindu nationalism has fed distrust and hostility toward anything foreign, and the receptionists at my hotel were sullenly suspicious of outsiders. There was no hotel bar — a sign of Hindu virtue — and the food served was pure vegetarian, a phrase implying both Hindu caste purity and anti-Muslim prejudice.

Persons: India ”, Narendra Modi, Modi, Ram Locations: Ayodhya, India

☆ In ‘Monkey Man,’ Dev Patel attempts to reclaim Hinduism for the underdog
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —“Monkey Man,” Dev Patel’s directorial debut action thriller that he also stars in, wrote and produced, opens with a tale familiar to Hindus around the world. This mythology is the foundation of “Monkey Man,” which hit theaters on April 5. In "Monkey Man," Kid plots revenge on the corrupt forces that raided his forest village and killed his mother. Dev Patel directed, wrote, produced and starred in the action thriller "Monkey Man," which is inspired by the Hindu legend of Hanuman. “Monkey Man,” then, is a warning about what can happen when people are oppressed and disempowered for too long.

Persons: ” Dev Patel’s, Hanuman, Patel himself, —, Patel, ” Patel, Kid, ’ ”, Rana Singh, Sikandar Kher, Baba Shakti, Makarand Deshpande, Rana, Sita, Sobhita, Rama, Ravana, Lord Rama, Sailaja Krishnamurti, ‘ What’s, ” Krishnamurti, “, Thrisha Mohan, Narendra Modi, Lord Ram, Imtiyaz Khan, ” Mohan, Baba Shakti —, ”, Krishnamurti, Mohan, Modi, it’s, wasn’t, Siddhant Adlakha, ” Adlakha, It’s, Amitabh Bachhan, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Keanu Reeves, Hollywood’s, Hollywood’s “ John Wick ”, India’s underclasses, “ He’s, Dev Patel, Monica Schipper, hijras, Kid bungles, he’s, Baba, Shiva, Parvati, Bedatri D, Choudhury Organizations: CNN, SXSW, Universal Pictures, Queen’s University, Human Rights, Indian, Anadolu, Getty, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, TIME, Alpha, Philadelphia Inquirer Locations: Yatana, India, Ayodhya, Hong Kong, Hollywood’s “, Kid’s

☆ Narendra Modi: India’s popular but controversial leader seeking a transformative third term
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +26 min

Varanasi and New Delhi CNN —Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi once famously made a simple election promise: “good days are coming”. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar on April 6, 2024. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking during a rally in Sydney, Australia, on May 23, 2023. Kalpit Bhachech/Getty Images Narendra Modi, then BJP secretary is welcomed at Ahmedabad Railway Station by the party's followers on January 31, 1992. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg/Getty Images India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2023.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Himanshu Sharma, Getty Images Modi, –, ”, Saba Naqvi, “, Vajpayee, Naqvi, Dileep Patel, John Mees, Akash Jaiswal, “ We’ve, ” Jaiswal, isn’t, Matthew Abbott, Hiraben, Damodardas, Dipam Bhachech, Lal Krishna Advani, Subhas Chandra Bose, Kalpit Bhachech, Kalpit, Negi Yasbant, Amit Dave, Ajit Solanki, Kevin Frayer, Saurabh Das, AP Modi, Manish Swarup, Lucas Jackson, Barack Obama, Adrien Helou, Reuters Modi, Adnan Abidi, Stringer, Mark Zuckerberg, David Paul Morris, Marco Longari, Angela Merkel, Tobias Schwarz, Emmanuel Macron, Charles Platiau, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, India's, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Amit Shah, Money Sharma, Boris Johnson, Phil Noble, Anthony Albanese, Brent Lewin, Pedro Ugarte, Joe Biden, Doug Mills, Paul Mashatile, Jacoline, Imtiyaz Khan, Amr Alfiky, Patel, India’s, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv, Rahul Gandhi, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, “ Narendra Modi, ” Mukhopadhyay, Mukhopadhyay, ” Modi, Keshav Baliram, “ Modi, BJP Modi, Lord Ram, ” Naqvi, Critics, Christophe Jaffrelot, Karan Thapar, ” Jaffrelot, Modi’s, it’s, —, Raj, India Narendra Modi, Kenny Hoston, Ram, ” Raniva, That’s Organizations: New Delhi CNN, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, India's, Getty Images, Pew, CNN, World Health Organization, New York Times, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Getty, Modi, Hospital, Narendra, India Today, Indian National Congress, AP, Madison, Garden, Reuters, Washington , D.C, French National Space Agency, of Yoga, Meta, Facebook, Bloomberg, European, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kyodo, British, Summit, Qudos Bank, White, Anadolu Agency, Anadolu, United, United Arab Emirates, Cambridge, today’s Congress Party, Harvard, The Times, Muslim, Australia Locations: Varanasi, New Delhi, Gujarat, Pushkar, India, “ India, United States, Brazil, “, Sydney, Australia, Ahmedabad, Ahmadabad, Washington, Washington ,, Toulouse, France, Xian, AFP, Menlo Park , California, U.S, Pretoria, South Africa, China, Berlin, Paris, Rashtrapati, Russian, Brasilia, Glasgow, Red, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Abu Dhabi, United Arab, Oxford, Vadnagar, Babri, Kadi, Kashmir, United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Jama

☆ India general election 2024: What to know about the world’s biggest vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Helen Regan | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Under Modi, India has become the world’s fastest growing major economy, pushing the country of 1.4 billion people to near-superpower status. Here’s what you need to know about the largest election in human history:How does India vote? Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar on April 6, 2024. Congress senior party leader Rahul Gandhi during the release of the party manifesto on April 5, 2024 in New Delhi. The ruling BJP’s symbol is a lotus, while the Congress party is a raised, open-palmed hand.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Noah Seelam, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Congress ’ Mamata Banerjee, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, Himanshu Sharma, Modi’s, Kejriwal, Sanjeev Verma, Nasir Kachroo, Biju Boro Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, European Union, Getty, Indian National Congress, Congress, Developmental Inclusive Alliance, Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi, West, All India, Modi, Hindustan Times, Minorities, Analysts, Bahujan Samaj Party, Farmers, for Media Studies Locations: India, United States, Russia, Lok, Hyderabad, AFP, INDIA, West Bengal, Tamil, Pushkar, Delhi, New Delhi, Ayodhya, Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh, China, Lohore Sapori, Assam

☆ India election: Date set for largest democratic vote in human history
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to secure another five years in power, ruling an India that has become increasingly polarized along religious lines. Under Modi’s leadership, India is poised to become a 21st-century powerhouse as its economy rapidly expands. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, marked a significant step for an opposition struggling to regain national significance. In August, India made history by soft-landing a rover on the moon, becoming just the fourth nation to do so. The election commission said 968.8 million people have registered to vote in the 2024 polls – a 6% increase from 2019.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Indira Gandhi, Modi, Weeks Organizations: CNN, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, Developmental Inclusive Alliance, Modi’s BJP, Organization for Economic Cooperation Locations: India, Lok, New Delhi, INDIA, Australia, United States, Ayodhya, China

CNN —India has announced rules that would allow it to implement a controversial citizenship bill that excludes Muslims. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provides a fast-track to citizenship for immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan – provided they are not Muslim. The controversial law would apply to religious minorities persecuted on religious grounds, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. Members of the United Opposition Forum protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Nagaon District, Assam, India, on March 8, 2024. The BJP has its roots in India’s Hindu right-wing movement, many followers of which see India as a Hindu nation.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Pakistan –, Modi, Amit Shah, “, Anuwar Organizations: CNN, Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, Indian, United Opposition, Getty, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP Locations: India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nagaon District, Assam, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Ayodhya

☆ Twin mosque demolitions in India underscore deep religious polarization months before nationwide election
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Rhea Mogul | Aishwarya S Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The demolitions drew incensed residents onto the streets and at least six people have been killed in clashes with police. The image of India that Modi wants to project is one of a confident, vibrant, and modern superpower. In India, a country of diverse faiths, religious groups follow their own laws for matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. Mohammad Zakir Hussain has said he barely slept since the demolition of his mosque, the madrasa, and his home in India’s capital Delhi. “(The government) rationalizes everything by blaming Mughal emperors,” he said, referring to India’s ancient Islamic rulers.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Ram, ”, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Imtiyaz Khan, Asaduddin, “, Mukhopadhyay, Mohammed Zakir Hussain, Mohammad Zakir Hussain, Aishwarya Iyer, Sanjay Katyal, Rana Safvi, ” Safvi, ” Mohammad Aman, Mohammad Arif, what’s, Mohammad Aman Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, CNN, Authorities, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian, Anadolu, Getty, Amnesty International, Delhi Development Authority, –, Court Locations: New Delhi, India, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, Haldwani, AFP, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India’s, Jammu, Kashmir, BJP, Delhi’s Mehrauli, Akhondji

☆ India’s Modi to inaugurate Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the United Arab Emirates to inaugurate a Hindu stone temple, boosting his credentials as a global statesman months before he heads to the polls in a nationwide election where he is seeking a rare third term in power. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Ahmedabad state of Gujarat, India on January 9, 2024. Yet, analysts expect this will not present an issue for Modi during his visit, given India’s rising prominence, its growing economy and strategic position on the global stage. In 2015, the UAE government allocated land for the development of the temple, in a major win for the diaspora. President Joe Biden visits Raj Ghat memorial with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and other G20 leaders, Sept. 10, 2023, in New Delhi.

Persons: CNN —, Narendra Modi, Modi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al, ”, Asim Ali, ” Ali, “, Ram, Nicolas Blarel, Blarel, Swaminarayan, ” Blarel, Kadira Pethiyagoda, that’s, Joe Biden, Raj, India Narendra Modi, Kenny Hoston, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Powers, ” Pethiyagoda Organizations: CNN, CNN — India’s, United, United Arab Emirates, Emirates, Guard, Indian, PIB, Getty, Bharatiya Janata, International Relations, Institute of Political Science, Leiden University, BJP, Brookings, Reuters Locations: United Arab, Abu, United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, Anadolu, UAE, New Delhi, Abu Dhabi, The Netherlands, South Asia, Indian, “ India, Saudi Arabia, East, Europe, “, China, Russia, Ayodhya, India’s

☆ Modi’s ‘divine India’ vision threatens to marginalize millions
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“(Today) is the beginning of a new time cycle,” Modi said at the new temple honoring Hindu deity Lord Ram. “After centuries of waiting, our Ram has arrived.”Modi’s vision of a “divine India” is a far cry from the ideas of the modern country’s founding fathers. “India becomes a de facto Hindu nation, where the task of building national Hindu religious symbols falls to the state. And he reiterated his party’s desire to build the Ram Temple on the contested holy site. Hindu groups have for decades claimed the Mughals destroyed Hindu temples, building mosques and other monuments in their place.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, ” Modi, Lord Ram, “, Ram, ”, Gilles Verniers, officiates, ‘, Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani, Modi’s, ” Modi fasted, ” Narendra Modi, Prakash Singh, Pratishtha ”, –, Sunita Viswanath, “ Modi, tramples what’s, Ravi Agrawal, it’s, Babar, Douglas E, Curran, ” Agrawal, Ritesh Shukla, Aurangzeb, “ Aurangzeb, Policy’s Agrawal, Gilles Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Centre for Policy Research, Bloomberg, Getty, Indian, Human Rights, India’s, Ram Locations: Ayodhya, “, India, New Delhi, Babri, Delhi, India’s, Jammu, Kashmir, South Asia, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Varanasi

☆ Lights! Camera! Modi! It’s a One-Man Show on Indian Television.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Mujib Mashal | Hari Kumar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The people streaming into the holy town came on an intimate quest: to be among the first to seek the blessings of a beloved god they said was returning home after 500 years. These Hindu devotees took leaves of absence from work. They ate with fellow pilgrims, slept in the cold and sipped tea at roadside joints as they waited to see the dazzling new temple devoted to the deity Ram. Early in the morning, as a soft devotional melody played from speakers strung to electric poles, they took purifying dips in a river. But it was another, smaller group, camped on the riverbank in Ayodhya, that made sure the moment was as much about India’s powerful prime minister, Narendra Modi, as it was about Lord Ram.

Persons: Ram, Narendra Modi, Lord Ram Locations: Ayodhya

☆ Religious trips will fuel India’s tourism boom — airlines are gearing up with record aircraft orders
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

India's tourism sector is set for a boom as more travelers take trips around the country for religious purposes. "Religious tourism is still the biggest segment of tourism in India … the creation of a new religious tourist centre (Ayodhya) with improved connectivity and infrastructure can create a meaningfully large economic impact," Jefferies highlighted. Indian media reported that around half a million people visited the Ram temple on its opening day which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The YouTube broadcast of the opening ceremony on Modi's channel alone received more than 11 million views. If it continues develop tourist destination including religious tourism, chances are that more and more people will come to visit India and it will even benefit on the foreign exchange side," said Nilesh Shah, managing director at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management.

Persons: Jefferies, —, Narendra Modi, Nilesh Shah Organizations: YouTube, Mahindra Asset Management Locations: Ayodhya, India, Rome's Vatican, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, Temple, Jammu, Kashmir

☆ Photos: Ayodhya Ram Mandir temple inaugurated in consecration ceremony overseen by Modi
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Crowds gather during the opening of a temple dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Ram, in Ayodhya, India, on January 22, 2024. Inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple Monday, Modi presided over the Pran Pratishtha, or consecration ceremony, of an idol of Lord Ram, one of Hinduism’s most revered deities. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plays a leading role in the ceremony consecrating a statue of the god Ram. “Today our Lord Ram has come. A man prays on the banks of Sarayu River on the occasion of Ram temple's consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Lord Ram, Rajesh Kumar Singh, –, Modi, Pran Pratishtha, Ram, Imtiyaz Khan, ” Modi, “ Ram, Money Sharma, Hinduism's Lord Ram, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani, Anupam Kher, Beckham, ”, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Katrina Kaif, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt Rajesh Kumar Singh Organizations: CNN, Indian, Anadolu, Getty Locations: Ayodhya, India, India's Uttar Pradesh, Sarayu, Babri

Workers walk in front of the site of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya, India, while it is under construction on December 29, 2023. Anushree Fadnavis/ReutersIndian engineering group Larsen and Toubro is constructing the temple within a 70-acre (28 hectares) complex, with the construction expected to cost about 15 billion rupees ($180 million). The government has not provided funds for its establishment and donations of about 30 billion rupees ($361 million) have been collected for the complex. Three sculptors carved murals of Lord Ram, one of which was picked by a panel to reside inside the sanctum sanctorum. The black stone sculpture weighs between 150 – 200 kgs (440 lbs) and depicts the deity as a five-year-old boy.

Persons: Anushree Fadnavis, Larsen, Toubro, Lord Ram Locations: Ayodhya, India, Indian

Leading up to the temple’s consecration, public spaces around India were thrumming with excitement. Ram is one of the most revered gods among India’s Hindus, who make up about 80 percent of a total population of 1.4 billion. Islam does not appear in the Ramayana, having arrived in India only 1,000 years ago. But it is cast as the primary villain in the Hindu-nationalist telling of India’s history. Now, with a kind of spiritual and political homecoming for Mr. Modi, the Ram campaigners have the temple they had sought for decades.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Ram, Modi Locations: Indian, Ayodhya, India

They fanned out across the vast country, knocking on doors in the name of a cause that would redefine India. These foot soldiers and organizers, including a young Narendra Modi, collected millions of dollars to be socked away for a long fight to build a grand Hindu temple in Ayodhya, in northern India. The bricks, the campaign’s leaders declared, would not just be used for the temple’s construction on land occupied for centuries by a mosque. They would be the foundation for a Hindu rashtra, or Hindu nation, that would correct what right-wing Hindus saw as the injustice of India’s birth as a secular republic. Mr. Modi, today the country’s prime minister, will inaugurate the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday — the crowning achievement of a national movement aimed at establishing Hindu supremacy in India by rallying the country’s Hindu majority across castes and tribes.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Ram, Modi Organizations: Mr Locations: India, Ayodhya

☆ Ayodhya temple: India’s Narenda Modi hails a new ‘divine India’ as he inaugurates Ram Mandir ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Helen Regan | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

By moving ahead of building the temple, now we all take the oath of building a national, capable, successful, beautiful, and divine India,” Modi said. His promise to build the Ram Mandir helped spur that initial election success. A devotee gets anoint the name of Lord Ram on his forehead ahead of the Inauguration of the Ram Mandir Temple on January 20, 2024 in Ayodhya, India. Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images“I have come here to seek blessings from Lord Ram and Sita, I am very happy today,” she said. “I have come here to seek blessing from Lord Ram, Modi has done so much,” he said.

Persons: Narendra Modi’s, Lord Ram –, Ram, ” Modi, “ Ram, Modi, Lord Ram, Rafiq Maqbool, Pran Pratishtha, Mohan Bhagwat, ”, Yogi Adityanath, Acharya Mohanjodaro Bharadwaj, Babar, Money Sharma, Maulana Badshah Khan, “, ” Khan, weaponizing, Modi “, Modi fasted, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Chandravanshi, Ritesh Shukla, Sita, Lal Singh Khushwa Organizations: CNN, “, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Getty, Human Rights, AP, YouTube Locations: India, India’s Ayodhya, Babri, Ayodhya, Vedika, India's, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, New York, Square, South Asia, Sarayu, New India, US, Tamil Nadu, “, Chhattisgarh

☆ India Counts Down to Opening of Grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

"The construction of the Ram Temple is an instrument to unite the country," Modi said in a message published on newspaper front pages ahead of a spectacle that will be watched by millions of Indians at home and abroad. India's Hindus say the site is the birthplace of Lord Ram, and was holy to them long before Muslim Mughals razed a temple at the spot to build the Babri Masjid, or mosque, in 1528. Nearly 8,000 people are expected to attend the invitation-only ceremony, from top business leaders to movie stars and sportspersons. More than 10,000 police personnel have fanned out across the city of 3 million people to provide security and keep out gatecrashers. The temple opens to the public on Tuesday and its management expects at least 100,000 visitors a day for the first few months.

Persons: Saurabh Sharma, Rajesh AYODHYA, Lord Ram, Narenda, Modi, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Supreme Court, Indian Express, YP Locations: India, Ayodhya, Ram

☆ Temple Tourism Set to Soar Under India's Modi
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

In comparison, about 9 million people visit Vatican City in a year and about 20 million Mecca. Since Modi inaugurated the Hindu pilgrimage site of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor on the banks of the Ganges in 2021 in his constituency of Varanasi, more than 130 million tourists have visited the area, according to government data. With nearly $200 billion in revenue, tourism contributes about 7% of India's economy, which is below most large emerging and developed economies by up to 5 percentage points. The new temple and renovations of many others are likely to greatly boost the electoral prospects of the Hindu nationalist party of Modi, who is widely expected to win a rare third straight term in general elections due by May. Muslims account for about 14% of India's population of 1.42 billion, most of them Hindus.

Persons: Krishna, Narendra Modi, Modi, Lord Ram, Monday's, Modi's, Sandeep Shastri, Krishn Kaushik, Ed Osmond Organizations: Das NEW, Indian, Monday, Jefferies, Analysts, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Ministry Locations: Das NEW DELHI, Ayodhya, Vatican, Kashi Vishwanath, Varanasi, India's, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi

He has ensured this with the Ram Temple,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, an expert in Hindu nationalism and author of a book on Modi. Modi’s Hindu nationalist party is expected to once again exploit religion for political gain in the upcoming national elections in April or May and secure power for a third consecutive term. The mosque was demolished by Hindu mobs in December 1992, sparking nationwide riots that killed more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. That fraught history is still an open wound for many Muslims, and some say the temple is the biggest political testament yet to Hindu supremacy. Modi has released postage stamps on Ram Temple, and live screenings of the ceremony are planned across the country.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Lord Ram, Modi, ”, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Modi's, ” Mukhopadhyay, “ Modi, Ram, Salam, ” Salam, revivalism —, “ Organizations: DELHI, —, Indian, Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party, Ram, BJP Locations: India, Ayodhya —, Ayodhya, Babri, Gujarat, Babri Mosque, Hindu India

☆ Factbox-What Are the Contentious Events Behind India's New Ram Temple?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

(Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a ceremony on Monday to consecrate a grand new temple to the Hindu god-king Ram, delivering on a campaign promise his political party made more than three decades ago. Legal battles ended in 2019 with the Supreme Court deciding to allow a Hindu temple to be built there, on condition that Muslims received another plot to build a mosque. In Dec. 1949, authorities seized the mosque after Hindu activists placed idols of Ram inside the disputed structure. 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. He rode to the office of prime minister in 2014 on a Hindu nationalist platform that included the promise to build the temple.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Ram, Modi, Modi's, Nripendra Misra, Lord Vishnu, Babur, India's, Lal Krishna Advani, Krishn Kaushik, Krishna Das, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Reuters, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, YP Locations: India, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, Gujarat

☆ Ayodhya’s Muslims confront grief and anxiety as Ram Temple inauguration nears
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Aishwarya Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But like many of the town’s 500,000 Muslims, 65-year-old Maulana Badshah Khan says he’ll be staying at home. And tens of thousands of pious Hindus are thronging to the small town to place flowers and gifts inside the temple. “They will call for Muslims to be expelled from Ayodhya or demand a Hindu Rashtra (nation),” he said. Mahboob, one of the petitioners who fought for the Babri mosque in the Supreme Court, said for most Muslims of Ayodhya, its construction does not hold emotional sway. Muslims pray for peace ahead of verdict on a disputed religious site in Ayodhya, inside a mosque premises in Ahmedabad, India, November 8, 2019.

Persons: Saffron, Narendra Modi, Maulana Badshah Khan, he’ll, Modi, Khan, ”, Azam Qadri, Douglas E, Curran, Haji Mahboob, Mahboob, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Mukhopadhyay, Nalin Kohli, Modi’s, Amit Dave, Babri, Arafat Shaikh –, BJP –, Shaikh, Gharib Nawaz, Vinod Bansal, Mahant Jairam Das, Hassan Ali Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Indian, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Getty, he’s, CNN, Ram, Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Locations: New Delhi, Ayodhya, New India, India, Babri, Ahmedabad, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan

☆ Religious Spectacle to Mark Opening of Ram Temple by India's Modi
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

It is also being seen as the virtual launch of the deeply religious strongman Modi’s re-election campaign for general elections due by May. India's majority Hindus say the site is the birthplace of Lord Ram, and was holy to them long before Muslim Mughals razed a temple at the spot and built the Babri Masjid or mosque there in 1528. Some of India’s top business leaders, movie actors and sportspersons have also been invited for the consecration, organisers said. The inauguration has also sparked a political controversy with major opposition parties, including the main opposition Congress, declining invitations to attend saying it had been converted into a political, Modi event. “The construction of the temple is going on as per the direction of the Supreme Court, so we welcome it.

Persons: Saurabh Sharma, Rajesh AYODHYA, Lord Ram, Narendra Modi, Modi’s, Modi, ” Modi, “, ”, Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi, Zufar Ahmad Faruqi, Shivam Patel, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Supreme Court, Krea University, Islamic, Foundation, YP Locations: India, Ayodhya

☆ New Mosque Construction in India's Ayodhya to Begin in May, Muslim Group Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

The dispute had scarred relations between the communities for decades and the destruction of the mosque sparked nationwide riots that killed 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. India's top court said in 2019 that the razing of the mosque was unlawful, but ruled that evidence showed there was a non-Islamic structure beneath it. It ordered that the site be given to Hindu groups to build a temple and Muslim community leaders be given land elsewhere in the city for constructing a mosque. While construction of the $180 million temple began within months and the first phase is set to open on Monday, Muslim groups have struggled to raise funds and begin work at a desolate site about 25 km (15 miles) away. A crowd-funding website is expected to be launched in the coming weeks, said Shaikh, who is also a BJP leader.

Persons: Shivam Patel, Haji Arfat Shaikh, Ram, Zufar Ahmad Faruqi, Narendra Modi's, Athar Hussain, Shaikh, Muhammed bin Abdullah, Prophet Mohammad, Babur, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: DELHI, Islamic Cultural Foundation, Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, YP Locations: Indian, Ayodhya, India's, India, Babri

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