Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday opened a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. The prime minister, accompanied by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, performed rituals of ‘pran-pratishtha’ for the idol of Ram Lalla.
He said the inauguration of the Ram temple is a dawn of new era for India. He also apologised to Lord Ram for the delay in building the temple.
Reacting to the development, Pakistan said the consecration ceremony of the temple on the site where once stood a 16th century mosque is “indicative of growing majoritarianism in India”.
“Deplorably, India’s superior judiciary not only acquitted the criminals responsible for this despicable act, but also allowed the construction of a temple on the site of the demolished mosque,” a statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
“Developments of the last 31 years, leading to today’s consecration ceremony, are indicative of growing majoritarianism in India. These constitute an important facet of the ongoing efforts for social, economic and political marginalization of the Indian Muslims,” it said.
Islamabad also claimed that after the demolition of Babri, more Indian mosques are facing the threat of desecration and destruction.
“Notably, there is a growing list of mosques, including the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and Shahi Eidgah Mosque in Mathura, facing similar threat of desecration and destruction,” the statement added.
The Ram temple in Ayodhya is constructed on the site where once stood a 16th century mosque. Hindus believe the mosque was built by Islamic invader Babar after destroying a temple of Lord Ram.
The mosque was demolished by a mob of ‘kar sevaks’ (religious workers) in 1992 when the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement was at its peak.
This became a legal issue and after decades, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Hindus in 2019, paving the way for the construction of the temple in Ayodhya.
The top court also alloted a separate land to Muslims several kilometres away from the temple site to build a mosque but the construction for the same has not been completed.