Ram temple opens, set to spark a boom

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday threw open a magnificent new Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of the Hindu deity, turning the page on one of India's most fractious disputes and fulfilling one of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) long awaited promises in an event that could have lasting impact on religion, politics and even tourism in the country.

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"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 said, as he presided over the ceremony dedicated to the 51-inch granite idol of the infant god, or Ram Lalla, in front of a huge crowd that even included industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Mittal, among many others.

It was a moment that lit up swathes of the country and beyond, and heralded the arrival of a new destination for religious tourism, one with the potential to rival not just Indian, but even global religious centres with its freshness and fervour.