Hindu nationalism having ‘deleterious implications’ for many of India’s Muslims

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday opened a controversial Hindu temple built on the ruins of a historic mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya, in a political triumph for the populist leader who is seeking to transform the country from a secular democracy into a Hindu state.

France 24 reported the temple is dedicated to Hinduism’s Lord Ram and fulfills a long-standing demand by millions of Hindus who worship the revered deity and extoll him for the virtues of truth, sacrifice and ethical governance.

Modi’s party and other Hindu nationalist groups who seized on the demand have portrayed the temple as central to their vision of reclaiming Hindu pride, which they say was suppressed by centuries of Mughal rule and British colonialism.

Modi and his governing Bharatiya Janata Party hope that opening the temple will help catapult the prime minister to a record third successive term in elections expected this spring. But with the temple still under construction, critics accuse Modi of a hurried opening to woo voters.