India’s Controversial Hindu Temple Opens ‘Floodgates’ for More
- Ram temple sets precedent for other disputes over mosques
- Hindu groups won two important court rulings recently
As India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to open a controversial Hindu temple where a centuries-old mosque once stood, Hindu groups have won important court rulings in the past week on other disputed religious sites.
India is making extensive preparations for Modi to inaugurate the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Jan. 22, fulfilling an election promise made by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to its Hindu voters. The religious site had been the source of a bitter dispute between Hindus and Muslims for decades and sparked deadly riots in the 1990s after the 16th-century Babri mosque was demolished there. The Supreme Court in 2019 eventually awarded the land to Hindus, some of whom believe the site is the birthplace of the god Ram.