.BY ONE COUNT there are almost 700,000 Hindu holy places in India. However for a lot of devotees it was actually the one that carried out certainly not exist– a monument to denote the apparent place of origin of Ram, a Hindu god– that mattered the best. On January 22nd their yearning will come to an end when Narendra Modi, the prime minister, consecrates the Ram mandir, a huge temple in the northern city of Ayodhya.
Some 8,000 people will participate in the service, featuring credit ratings of authorities from Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) as well as person of influences from 55 countries. Why is the temple so important?