Lighting up for Ayodhya event

Temples and other buildings on the bank of the Sarayu river seen illuminated on Tuesday, ahead of a foundation-laying ceremony for a Hindu temple in Ayodhya, India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday laid the foundation stone for the temple on a site where a 16th century mosque was demolished by supporters of his Hindu nationalist party in 1992.

The 1992 incident in Ayodhya sparked communal riots in several parts of India. About 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.

The rights to the site were unresolved until last year, when the Supreme Court decided in favour of building a Hindu temple there, on the condition that Muslims were given another plot to build a mosque.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 06, 2020, with the headline Lighting up for Ayodhya event. Subscribe