Rama, considered an incarnation of god Vishnu, is a widely worshiped Hindu deity. According to the ancient Indian epic, Ramayana, Rama was born in Ayodhya. This became known as Ram Janmabhoomi or Ram's birthplace. In the 15th century, the Mughals constructed a mosque, the Babri Masjid, on Ram Janmabhoomi. Hindus believe that the mosque was built after razing a Hindu temple. It was only in the 1850s when the dispute surfaced in a violent form and in December 1992 the demolition of the Babri Masjid took place. Various title and legal disputes also took place, such as the passage of the Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Ordinance, 1993. It was only after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya dispute that it was decided the disputed land be handed over to a trust formed by the Government. The trust formed was Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. On 5 February 2020, it was announced in the parliament that the Union Council of Ministers had accepted a scheme to construct the temple.
Architecture
The original design for the Ram temple was prepared in 1988 by the Sompura family of Ahmadabad. The Sompuras have been part of the temple design of over 100 temples all over the world for at least 15 generations. A new design for Ram temple, with some changes from the original design, was prepared by the Sompuras in 2020. The temple will be 235 feet wide, 360 feet long and 161 feet high. The chief architect of the temple is Chandrakant Sompura along with his two sons Nikhil Sompura and Ashish Sompura, who are also architects. The Sompura family have designed the Ram temple following 'Nagara' style architecture, one of the types of Indian temple architecture. The temple complex will have a prayer hall, "a Ramkatha Kunj, a Vaidik Pathshala, a Sant Niwas and a Yatri Niwas " and other facilities like a museum and a cafeteria. Once complete the temple complex will be the world's third largest Hindu shrine. A model of the proposed temple was showcased during the Prayag Kumbh Mela in 2019.
Construction
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust began the first phase of construction of the Ram Temple in March 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India followed by the 2020 China–India skirmishes caused a temporary suspension of the construction. During ground-leveling and excavation of the construction site a Shivaling, pillars and broken idols were found. On 25 March 2020 Lord Ram's idol was moved to a temporary location in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath.
Ground-breaking ceremony
The temple construction will start again after a grand ground-breaking ceremony on 5 August. According to media reports, the ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Three-day long Vedic rituals will be held ahead of the ground-breaking ceremony, which will revolve around the installation of a 40 kg silver brick as the foundation stone by the Prime Minister. On the occasion of the Bhoomi-Pooja, soil and holy-water from several religious places across India, Triveni Sangam of rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati at Prayagraj, Kaveri river at Talakaveri, Kamakhya Temple in Assam and many others, were collected. Soil was also sent from various Hindu temples, Gurudwaras and Jain Temples across the nation to bless the upcoming temple. Among the many was Sharada Peeth located in Pakistan. Soil was also sent form the four pilgrimage locations of Char Dham. Temples in United States, Canada and Caribbean Islands will hold a virtual service to celebrate the occasion. Plans to show Lord Ram's image at Times Square have also been made. All 7000 temples in a 7 km radius of Hanumangarhi have also been asked to join in the celebrations by lighting diyas. Muslims devotees in Ayodhya who consider Lord Ram as their ancestor also look forward to the bhoomi-puja. Spiritual leaders from all faiths will be invited on the occasion. Ramlala's dress will be stitched by tailors Bhagwat Prasad and Shankar Lal; Shankar Lal's is a fourth generation tailor to Lord Ram's idol.
