Last Update: February 02, 2023, 18:12 IST
Historically, ‘Shila Pujan’, ‘Kar Seva’ events have been successful mechanisms to undermine caste consciousness and build Hindu identity. (File photo: PTI)
The stones brought from the Kali Gandaki Falls in Nepal are kept at the Ram Sevak Puram (storage area for the construction material of the Ram temple) in Ayodhya.
Two large Shaligram stone slabs (fossil stones considered sacred) likely to be used in the construction of Lord Ram’s idol at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple reached Ayodhya from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhnath temple on Thursday.
Stones brought from the Kali Gandaki Falls in Nepal are kept at the Ram Sevak Puram (storage area for construction materials for the Ram temple) in Ayodhya. Two rocks were found in the Gandaki river at a place close to Shaligram or Muktinath (the place of salvation) in Mustang district of Nepal.
According to news agency ANI, Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, said that the stones will be open for worship on February 2 at 10:30 pm.
Around 100 Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionaries and a five-member delegation from Nepal were on their way to Sheela Yatra with the stones believed to be centuries old. Hindustan Times. Many devotees had also reached the National Highway 28 connecting Kushinagar to Gorakhpur to worship the stones.
In what context can it be read the way these twin stone slabs weighing several tons have been displayed at many places before reaching Ayodhya? ‘Ramcharitmanas’ controversy as well.
On one hand, the opposition is trying to revive the politics of Mandal by raising questions on Ramcharitmanas and demanding census of backward castes. Meanwhile, the BJP hopes to keep the spirit of Hindutva strong through the Ram temple and its associated symbols.
Historically, ‘Shila Pujan’, ‘Kar Seva’ events have been successful mechanisms to undermine caste consciousness and build Hindu identity.
Sources said that initially Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also expected to reach Ayodhya on Thursday. However, it is believed that he was absent from the Global Investors Summit due to the greater focus on ‘development’.
With the Ram temple likely to open by January next year, Hindutva continues to play the backhand in the 2024 assembly elections.
(With inputs from Pranshu Mishra)
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