Ayodhya, the “New Jerusalem” of Hindu nationalists

• From our special correspondent in Ayodhya,

Vishal Singh is a character of haste. The 50-year-old civil servant, a confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, heads the development authority of Ayodhya, a city in Uttar Pradesh about 700 km southeast of New Delhi. In the morning, he comes early and rushes through the corridor to his office on the first floor. His assistant barely had time to bow to him before he tossed his jacket at her and sat down in his chair behind a large dark wooden desk. Several rows of seats are in front of him. Throughout the day, he would hold more meetings, prepare reports for ministers, receive subcontractors commissioned to renovate this town in northern India. Because his time is running out.

The inauguration ceremony of the great temple dedicated to Lord Rama will take place on January 22. The prime minister, the entire government, the country’s top dignitaries will attend this major event, which will realize the dream of the nationalist right in power: to give Hindus, where the god Rama is said to have been born, a holy place. Pooja, the equivalent of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for Catholics or Mecca for Muslims. Wherever Modi goes, everything must be flawless. Vishal Singh examines every detail. An executive from the company assigned to install the solar street lights handed him a document to sign. “How far will you take it?” they ask. He doesn’t like the contractor’s answer. “No need. (Prime Minister’s Delegation) I won’t go that far.” he says.

Two centuries of litigation

The inauguration on January 22 is just one step in the city’s transformation into a holy city. The Indian Prime Minister personally reviewed and approved a massive transformation plan in a meeting three years ago. “He set us a goal: to make Ayodhya the global spiritual capital of the world by 2047, the centenary of India’s independence. explain…