When Satyanarayan Pandey was chosen for carving the idol of Ram Lalla for the new temple in Ayodhya, Pandey’s first thought was that the Lord himself had instructed Hanuman to get him from Jaipur. A staunch Hanuman bhakt, Pandey (65) comes from a family of sculptors. “We go back at least 12 generations. I learnt from my father”, said the native of Jaipur, Rajasthan.
'This historic and sacred occasion, after a gap of 500 years, has overwhelmed not just India but the entire world, with all eyes fixed on the 'mokshadayani' Ayodhya.'
The construction, begun in 2020, had been a contentious issue as the temple stands on the site of a 16th century mosque demolished by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking nationwide riots that killed 2,000 people, mostly minority Muslims. 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. Modi laid 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).
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