'Our new film, Shri Ram Bhoomi, begins shooting today in Ayodhya. How can any new work begin without the blessings of Ram Lalla and Lord Hanuman?'
A Lucknow-based jeweller has raised concerns about the untraceable status of a three-kg silver lamp and other silver items he and his association donated to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. His claims come amidst allegations of fund embezzlement at the temple, prompting a state-level SIT investigation ordered by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The meeting came a day after the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, set up recently to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, met for the first time on Wednesday.
'All this (temple's construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities'
Top India batsman Shikhar Dhawan saw it as a historic day of celebration, while former cricketer Mohammed Kaif reminded the country of its culture of peaceful coexistence as sportspersons reacted to the bhoomi pujan ceremony for a temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
Danish Kaneria played 61 Tests for Pakistan.
The excitement on the foundation laying ceremony of Ram Temple reverberated across the country as Ram bhakts gathered to to celebrate the groundbreaking occasion. People across the country were seen chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' and waving saffron flags. Fireworks were also burst and sweets were distributed to mark the day.
The event brings to fruition the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.
The prasad included laddoos, a copy of the Ramcharitmanas and tulsi mala, Chief Minister's Media Advisor Shalabh Mani Tripathi told PTI. He said the first prasad was sent to the Mahaveer's family in Ayodhya.
The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust is conducting a mass contact and contribution campaign for the construction of the grand temple in Ayodhya which began on January 15 and will go on till February 27.
The bricks were sent by devotees of Lord Ram from around the world in 1989. There are 2,75,000 such bricks, out of which 100 bricks with 'Jai Shri Ram' engraving have been taken.
Khan, a local politician and social worker, has been openly pro-temple during the bitter temple-mosque dispute. But there are other signs that his community wants to move on, beyond the dispute that many Hindus and Muslims feel held Ayodhya back.
By the end of 2023, the construction at the sanctum sanctorum is expected to be completed, Rai said.
Modi's presence at the evnt would open wounds, the Hyderabad MP said.
Gold and silver will be used in the design of the main doors of the temple.
Construction work on the Ram temple in Ayodhya is going on in full swing and a part of construction is likely to be completed by October this year, said general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Champat Rai on Monday.
Invitations are being extended to several people who have been part of this temple movement including BJP leaders L K Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, Mishra said. Kameshwar Chaupal, another trustee of the temple, said top leaders of the RSS including its chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi are also being invited for the event along with VHP's working president Alok Kumar.
The time capsule, enlisting the history and facts related to the Ram Janmabhoomi, will be placed thousands of feet below the construction site. It will be done in order to ensure that there are no disputes in the future. A grand Ram Temple will be built here and all arrangements are in place for Bhoomi Pujan.
'Does a secular nation not believe in its ancestry? The Constitution has a photo of Ram also.'
Beginning from 8 am on August 5 till 10 pm, images of the words 'Jai Shri Ram' in Hindi and English, Lord Ram's portraits and videos, 3D portraits of the temple's design and architecture as well as pictures of the laying of the foundation stone by Modi will be displayed across several billboards, which are among the most striking and popular features of Times Square, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
'He couldn't hold himself from chanting 'Siyavar Ramchandra ki Jai'.'
Talking to reporters in Pune, Swami Govind Devgiri Maharaj also said all chief ministers must be invited for the ceremony. "The PM has agreed to come to Ayodhya on August 5 for the 'bhoomi pujan' of Ram temple. He will be there for one-and-a-half hours.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president and Champat Rai general secretary of the Ram Temple trust at its first meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya after offering prayers at the Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya.
'If the Ram Mandir is made, it is because of the collective strength of our country.'
Talking about the donation received by VHP from President Kovind, Alok Kumar said, "He is the first citizen of the country. So we went to him to initiate this drive and he met us with his family and donated a sum of Rs 5,00,100 and gave his good wishes for the success of the mission."
Leaders hope the Ayodhya temple ceremony would pave way for harmony.
The height of Ayodhya's grand Ram temple would be 161-feet
'He was a nobody then.' 'And whatever little his contribution was there, it was restricted to Gujarat.'
Invitees to the 'pran pratishtha' consecration ceremony at the Ram temple started arriving Sunday in Ayodhya -- once a sleepy town now resplendent with new infrastructure and gripped by heightened religious fervour on the eve of a seminal event in India's political and religious history.
"The earlier design was made in 1988, now over 30 years have passed and so the footfall will increase with time. People are also very enthusiastic about visiting the temple so we thought its size should be increased. In view of this, the height of the temple has been increased from 141-feet to 161-feet," Nikhil Sompura said.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
An editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said it was never decided that the grand temple will be constructed through public donations, and political campaigning in the name of Lord Ram has to be stopped at some point of time.
Some jewellery shops in the famous Shringaar Haat area turned into places for community television spots as passers-by and even some security personnel and mediapersons joined shopkeepers to watch the live telecast of 'bhoomi poojan' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the temple and his speech. Many recalled that these scenes were similar to ones quite common in late 1980s when 'Ramayana' serial was telecast on Doordarshan and people used to gather at few houses and shops having TV sets.
On Monday, a new chapter will be written in Ayodhya's and the country's history with the consecration ceremony at the newly-built Ram temple which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and over 7,000 guests.
Amid protests outside the Delhi University, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy went ahead with a seminar on the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya where he asserted that nothing will be done forcibly or against the law.
Adityanath spent hours reviewing the arrangements for the ceremony at the Ram Janmabhoomi, where the temple will be constructed following the go-ahead last year by the Supreme Court.
Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal structure in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration.
After Prime Minister Modi performed the bhoomi puja for the Ram temple, Lata Mangeshkar picked her favourite Ram bhajans.
PM Modi will arrive at 12.30 pm at the Ram Janmbhoomi and take part in various prayers including the main 'bhoomi pujan'. Govind Giriji Maharaj, treasurer of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said that the religious ceremonies will begin from 8.30 am in the morning and will continue till 12.30 pm.