Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a grand temple to Hindu god Ram in Ayodhya.

The temple replaces a 16th-Century mosque torn down by Hindu followers in 1992, sparking riots in which nearly 2,000 people died.

Some of the Hindu seers and most of the opposition boycotted it, saying Mr Modi was using it for political gain.General elections are due in India in the next few months and Mr Modi’s political rivals say the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be seeking votes in the temple’s name in a country where 80% of the population is Hindu.

Critics have also accused the government of exploiting a religious celebration in a country which – according to its constitution – is secular. For Muslims, India’s biggest minority, the event evoked fear and painful memories, members of the community in Ayodhya told in the run-up to Monday’s ceremony.

The temple has been constructed at a cost of $217m (£170m), funded from private donations. Only the ground floor was opened – the rest is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The construction work is part of a revamp for the city, estimated to cost more than $3bn.

Hindu devotees chant religious slogans as they watch the inauguration of the Hindu Lord Ram temple on a big screen.January 22, 2024

The building of the Ram temple in Ayodhya fulfils a decades-long Hindu nationalist pledge. Many Hindus believe the Babri mosque was built by Muslim invaders on the ruins of a temple where the Hindu god was born.The movement to build the temple helped propel the BJP into political prominence in the 1990s.
In 2019, the Supreme Court gave the disputed land to Hindus after a protracted legal battle followed the mosque’s demolition. Muslims were given a plot outside the city for a mosque but have yet to build one.