Faith and State Are a Powerful Mix for India’s Modi
His inauguration of a temple to the Hindu god-king Ram illustrates why the two-term prime minister sits unchallenged atop the country’s politics.
Uniting faith and politics.
Photographer: Subash Shrestha/AFP/Getty Images
In India, the third week of January has always been a time for nationalist pageantry. It features two national holidays: the birthday of the Bengali revolutionary Subhash Chandra Bose, and the anniversary of the adoption of India’s liberal constitution in 1950. On the latter, Republic Day, parades across the country showcase not just tanks, missiles, bagpipes, and flags, but also folk dances and cultural achievements — all the things that contribute to this country’s famously lively public life.
This year, however, all this republican tradition will be overshadowed by a ceremony both older and newer: Monday’s inauguration, or perhaps re-consecration, of a temple to the Hindu god-king Ram in Ayodhya.