Rattibha

In 1949, 2 statues miraculously appeared in Babri Masjid
Everyone got hopeful that Ram Mandir will be rebuilt, but nothing happened for 70 yrs
And now, 500 yrs since it was replaced, Ram Mandir is finally being revived
THREAD: How Ayodhya will get back to its long lost form🧵

In ancient India, temples acted as the prime institutions that shaped an entire civilisation.
They used to be the centre of all economic and cultural activities.
And that is exactly how they want Ram Mandir’s reclamation to be — for not just Ayodhya, but all of India.

Lord Ram is seen as the Ideal Man — Mariyada Purshottam.
He is seen as a human being who is just perfect.
And his story, the Ramayana, is extremely well distributed across the globe.

Along with that, the biggest festival for Hindus is Diwali, which is based on the Ramayana — his return to Ayodhya.
Also, he is more of a relatable character, who carved a path through all the mountainous challenges.
That makes his temple a really really important institution.

But there is more to the story of Ram Mandir’s reclamation.
Ram’s return today is also going to bring back the real essence of Indian temples!
Here's how 👇

Originally, temples were the prime institutions responsible for the moral and social conditioning of a civilization.
But with time, these institutions lost their essence. The Ram Mandir seems to stand out.

See, temples were initially established to contribute to the social, cultural, & moral dimensions of a society as:
1. A spiritual & yogic centre
2. An architectural & artistic experience
3. An educational hub
4. A propagator of Indian culture
5. A pilgrimage of renewal & healing

And Ram Mandir aims to be all that.
A report published by SBI suggests that Ram Mandir and other tourism plans could bolster Uttar Pradesh's finances by ₹20,000-25,000 Cr in tax revenue.
Apart from this, it also prospects to bring back the lost “Ram Rajya” in its real sense.

So, they’re redesigning the city and its storytelling is based on Ram Rajya which is a very famous concept propagated through Ramayana.
Ayodhya in Ram Rajya was ideal and beautiful — where peace, prosperity and justice prevailed.

They're not just thinking about pilgrimage here, they're thinking from the broader view of global tourism where they can sell the essence of the place through this Ram Rajya experience.
They want to make Ayodhya a global spiritual capital where people come to not just pray,

but to also reflect and understand Lord Ram’s journey, and take inspiration from it.
From a more capitalistic perspective — it sets the tone for becoming India’s major storytelling:
Whenever people across the world think about India, they think of spirituality.

Building on that narrative, Ayodhya can easily become the global capital of spirituality.
Now, a lot of people think that this city is all about religion, but fundamentally, Hinduism is not just a religion — it's a way of life.

So, the way of life taught by Lord Ram's own life is the best story that can reflect the idea of India & what it represents.
That’s why, when people will think of India in the coming decades, they’ll think of this beautiful city and what they learnt from Lord Ram’s journey.

Now, while Ayodhya is preparing to be the global icon for a spiritual retreat, how will it actually do so?
How will it avoid the possibility of being diluted amongst the crowd?
How will it manage to keep its real essence rooted & not end up being another commercialized hub?

Let's understand this with the case of Vrindavan — the land of Lord Krishna.
What does Vrindavan look like on a normal day? OVERLY CROWDED.
It's a small town with an upper limit of the holding capacity nearly equivalent to 20000 people, but it has to host 1 lakh visitors a day.

And the number exceeds to 5-6 lakhs on auspicious days like Krishna Janmashtami.
As a result, tourists have often complaint about the accommodation, parking, business and scam gimmicks in the city.
But will Ayodhya face similar problems? The answer is NO.

As Ayodhya is being developed from scratch with a very clear plan.
See, India accounts 60% of its tourism economy through SPIRITUAL TOURISM & UP is one of the major religious and spiritual hubs in the country.
It witnessed more than 32 Cr tourists in the first 9 months of 2023.

According to SBI, these figures are expected to double after today as Ayodhya plans to be an epicenter for spirituality.
For the next 6 months, Ayodhya expects to see a footfall of more than 1 lakh pilgrims everyday.
But the challenge here is — their accommodation.

Ayodhya is a small city & despite the establishment of newer hotels & buildings, accommodating so many tourists is always tough.
So, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has planned to establish 5 major tent cities with a blend of ancient aesthetics and modern luxury.

Taking this further, there will be a Disneyland-styled theme park, where we’ll see a journey through Ramayana.
And it will be called “Ram Land”.
So, all-in-all, Ayodhya is not just going to be a normal pilgrim place, it will be a land where we’ll celebrate the essence of India.