Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hoisted the saffron Dharma Dhwaj atop the Ram temple in Ayodhya, marking its formal completion, and said the “wounds and pain of centuries” were healing as a 500-year-old resolve had finally been fulfilled.The prime minister, who performed the flag hoisting in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, also used the occasion to outline the roadmap for a developed India by 2047 and said the country must break free from the British-era legacy of “slave mentality”.
Modi’s historic fifth visit to Ayodhya as the prime minister was marked by a road show to the temple during which a large number of people stood along the route to welcome him with showers of flower petals as ‘Ram Dhun’ wafted from public speaker systems.
The event, which took place during the auspicious ‘abhijeet muhurt’ and coincided with Vivah Panchami (the festival that celebrates Lord Ram’s wedding), transformed Ayodhya into a vast but highly secured cultural arena, with hundreds of artistes from across the state presenting folk, classical and devotional performances.