Nearly three decades later, Modi oversaw the groundbreaking of the temple, likening it to “ the day India gained independence.” In January 1992, less than a year before the mosque was destroyed, Modi pledged not to return to Ayodhya until a temple dedicated to Lord Ram was completed. In 1990, as a local BJP leader in his native Gujarat, Modi helped organize a religious rally that aimed to gin up support for the construction of a temple to Lord Ram on the site of the Babri Mosque. The Ram Mandir movement has been a throughline of Modi’s career, says Rana Ayyub, one of India’s most famous journalists and a renowned thorn in the side of Modi’s BJP. Fajlehussain Manusiya stacks a wooden replica of Ayodhya's Ram temple at his workshop in Ahmedabad on January 18, 2024. It also cements his legacy as one of the country’s most consequential leaders-in particular, one who is helping to transform India from a secular democracy into an avowedly Hindu nation. What is the significance of the Ayodhya site for Modi?įor Modi, the construction of the Ram Temple represents more than just the honoring of a decades-long Hindu nationalist pledge (rebuilding the temple, which was greenlit by India’s Supreme Court in 2019, has been a core project of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party). Here’s what to know about the temple and its significance. “The temple consecration is papering over incredibly traumatic and heavily contested events in India’s history.” “The Ram Mandir revolves around some of the most divisive issues for religion and society in contemporary India,” Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, tells TIME in an email. 22 consecration as a celebratory occasion of immense national and religious importance, observers fear that the event could signify yet another nail in the coffin of India’s secular ethos. While the Indian government, and indeed many Hindus, regard the Jan. It’s for this reason that leaders of the opposition Congress Party opted to skip the ceremony, which they describe as nothing more than “a political project … obviously brought forward for electoral gain.” Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva along with Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi and others at a bike rally on Januin New Delhi, India. But it also signifies the unofficial start of his campaign to win a third consecutive term when Indians go to the polls in the spring for national elections. Saffron-colored flags and pennants, a symbol of Hindu nationalism, were raised across the country.įor Modi, whose Hindu-natioanlist government has overseen a steady rise in violence against Muslims and other religious minorities, the consecration represents the fulfillment of a decade-long pledge to rebuild the temple (the construction of which isn’t due to be completed until December). Several parts of the country declared the day a public holiday, with some even going so far as to restrict the sale of alcohol and non-vegetarian food. "It’s a testament to Dick Wolf and the team of people he puts together.”ĭale Hay was an essential, beloved part of that team, and he will be missed.This fraught history barely featured in the jubilant celebrations surrounding the ceremony, which was viewed by millions of people. "It’s never lost on me how special it is to be a part of something with the longevity this has," Taylor Kinney, who plays Severide on Chicago Fire, told Us Weekly in May 2022. That family mentality has kept the show going for so many years. RELATED: What to Know About Chicago Fire Season 12: Details They were very warm and, 'Come in, meet the family, meet my family, come over for dinner.'" The people who really welcomed me the most were Uri, who played Otis, and David Eigenberg, who played Herrmann. That's very much how my experience was off-camera. Since Dawson was supportive, everybody else hopped on board and was very quick to embrace her. "That's also what we saw onscreen with Stella Kidd's character is that, from the jump, there was the support of Dawson's character. "The crew was so loving and warm and welcoming and really wanted me to succeed," she said. Miranda Rae Mayo, who plays Stella Kidd, opened up to Looper in 2022 about the close-knit bond of the Chicago Fire cast and crew, which, of course, included Hay. Firefighters appear on Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 2 "Call Me McHolland".
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