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PM Narendra Modi to hoist Ram Temple flag in grand event today
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoists the ‘Dharmdwaja’— the Ram Temple flag — 203 feet above the ground level at 11.55am on Tuesday, the unfurling of the saffron flag will also mark the formal culmination of the construction work that began over five years ago.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoists the ‘Dharmdwaja’— the Ram Temple flag — 203 feet above the ground level at 11.55am on Tuesday, the unfurling of the saffron flag will also mark the formal culmination of the construction work that began over five years ago.
On August 5, 2020, Modi had performed the bhumi pujan or foundation-laying ceremony for the Ram Temple, marking the start of the construction work; Modi had then led the grand consecration ceremony of the temple on January 22, 2024. And now, the 70acre temple and the holy city are both decked up for the grand finale of this project.
“The construction work of Ram Mandir, which began with the bhumi pujan on August 5, 2020, will come to an end with the flag hoisting ceremony,” said Champat Rai, general secretary of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
“The flag has symbols of the Sun, Om, and Kovidar tree, as described in the Valmiki Ramayana, inscribed on it,” said Gopal Rao, a senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office bearer who is overseeing preparations of the flag hoisting ceremony.
The 22-foot-long and 11-foot-wide flag will be raised on a 42-foot mast atop the 161-foot spire of the temple. The flagpole will be fixed on a 360-degree rotating chamber, ensuring that the flag sustains wind speeds of up to 60 km per hour, said the trust. The flag, made of special parachute fabric and silk threads, can withstand the sun, rain, and strong winds, said Anil Mishra, member of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
PM Modi will also visit the Saptmandir which houses temples related to Maharshi Vashishtha, Maharshi Vishwamitra, Maharshi Agastya, Maharshi Valmiki, Devi Ahilya, Nishadraj Guha and Mata Shabari. This will be followed by a visit to Sheshavtar Mandir. PM will also meet engineers and workers engaged in the construction of the temple, according to the trust.
Led by esteemed scholars from Ayodhya and Varanasi, vedic rituals began at the Ram Mandir on Friday for the five-day ceremony. The event began with the worship of the Navagraha (nine planets). Anil Mishra was the host of the event.
The rituals include offerings to the sacred fire (yajna) and recitation of Vedic hymns, including the Ram Archana, Ram Raksha Stotra, the Valmiki Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas.
Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat are the chief guests at the mega ceremony. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and governor Anandiben Patel will also be present at the event. “Seating arrangements have been made for 8,000 people at the flag hoisting ceremony,” said Rao.
After the event, PM Modi will interact with the workers and engineers engaged in the construction of the temple.
Ayodhya airport director Dhirendra Singh said they are ready for 40 to 80 chartered planes, which will be parked at nearby airports. Alongside a special lounge for the PM, six VIP lounges have been prepared for the chief minister, governor, and other dignitaries.
The temple trust has requested invitees to reach Ayodhya by Monday and acquired 1,600 rooms in hotels, along with tent cities, to accommodate them. “Entry for the event will be done between 7:30 and 9:00am on November 25,” Rai said. In addition, 50 beds in Ayodhya medical college were reserved, and around two dozen doctors, supported by a large team of paramedical staff, will be on duty, said Ayodhya district magistrate Nikhil Tikaram Funde.
A five-tier security arrangement will be in place – the special protection group forming the first layer, the national security guard commandos the second layer, the anti-terror squad commandos the third layer, paramilitary forces the fourth layer and local police the fifth layer.
Built in the traditional Nagara style of architecture with intricate carvings of deities adorning its white marble walls, the temple spans 380 feet in length and 250 feet in width, with its tallest spire at 161 feet. Supported by 392 columns and accessible through 44 doors, the temple is built on the 2.77-acre plot which Hindus believe to be the birthplace of Lord Ram and which was locked away behind the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute for 150 years, before the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict in 2019.
The larger complex stretches across a cavernous 70-acre area, comprising at least seven other temples, a 732 metre-long circumambulation path known as a ‘parkota’, greenery, and a bevy of smaller shrines. The temples of Hindu saints described in ancient religious texts, including Valmiki, Vashishtha, Vishwamitra, Agastya, along with Nishadraj and Ahilya, have also come up in the Ram Janmabhoomi complex.
“Around 70,000 to 80,000 people are visiting Ayodhya daily. According to information received from the Railways, 50,000 passengers are arriving daily by train. Since the Pran Pratishtha, over six crore people have visited Ram Lalla,” said Rai.
The last time the temple hit national headlines was on January 22, 2024, when Modi presided over the ceremony dedicated to the 51-inch black stone idol of the five-year-old god, or Ram Lalla, in front of a thousands-strong crowd comprising India’s most celebrated dignitaries from every walk of life.
Carrying a silver “chattra”,or umbrella, for the deity, Modi had cantered up 32 steps to enter the temple, walking through five halls, or “mandaps”, decorated with yellow and saffron marigold flowers, as chants of “Jai Shri Ram” coursed through the crowd. “22nd January 2024 is not a mere date, it’s the origin of a new kal chakra (era)… We have to expand our consciousness from dev to desh, Ram to rashtra – from deity to nation,” he had said at the time.
Around the temple, the city, too, has transformed. It now boasts of an airport - The Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya Dham – a modern railway station, a ₹2,180 crore eco-friendly township being developed on 1,407 acres, and the ₹4,403 crore Ram Van Gaman Path to develop the route taken by Lord Ram during his exile.
With over ₹85,000 crore in infrastructure and tourism-led investments, Ayodhya wants to become a “global spiritual smart city, where cultural heritage, modern connectivity, and community-led development are converging to create new opportunities”, said Ayodhya divisional commissioner Rajesh Kumar.
Sridhar Rawat, who lives near Naya Ghat in Ayodhya, says the city has changed a lot since the construction of the Ram Temple began five years ago.
“Ayodhya was once a nondescript town. No politician wanted to come here. But everything changed after the construction work of Ram Mandir began,” he said. “Ayodhya is now a bustling city with all amenities and infrastructure. But too much VIP movement also causes some problems for locals. We are ready to bear this cost for the city’s development.”
