North America’s tallest Lord Ram idol to be unveiled in Toronto area
A 51-foot idol of Lord Ram will be unveiled in Mississauga, Canada, during a ceremony, symbolizing cultural heritage amid security concerns.
Toronto: The tallest idol of Lord Ram in North American will be unveiled on the premises of a temple at a ceremony in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on Sunday.
The idol, which has already been erected on the premises of the Hindu Heritage Center in Mississauga, will be formally inaugurated after a parade and a religious ceremony.
The Center’s founder and head priest Acharya Surinder Sharma Shastri said the idol will stand at 51 feet in height, not including the pedestal, which is seven feet high, and a proposed chattri or umbrella, which they expect to add in the future.
The idol, fabricated in Delhi, is made of fiberglass with a steel superstructure. It is expected to last a century and resist winds of up to 200 km/hr.
Acharya Surinder said the concept came into being about three years ago and the temple drew inspiration from the inauguration of the temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya in January 2024.
“This will be emblematic of our cultural heritage and bring Lord Ram’s blessings to the community,” he said.
While the idol had been fabricated in India, it was assembled by local craftsmen in Canada, he said.
Kushagr Sharma, principal organizer of the event on Sunday, said the temple got the requisite permission from the city and had received cooperation from the local government and local law enforcement.
The ceremony is expected to be attended by Federal and provincial Ministers, MPs and local office-holders, including the Mayor of Mississauga.
He pointed out that flights landing at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga fly at a low altitude over the temple during their descent and, soon, among the first sights to greet passengers will be that of the towering Ram idol.
However, given the current anti-immigration mood which has evolved into a degree of xenophobia in Canada, there will be significant security at the event. When a 55-foot high Hanuman statue was installed at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton in April last year, the temple faced bigoted attacks on social media.
