Today we are going to have a look at the effects of Ram Temple at Ayodhya on the Socio-Economic setup in India.

A grand temple was inaugurated in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2023. The temple brought to an end the long standing demand for a Ram Temple at the site that is believed to be the birth place of Lord Ram.

Having said that, let us delve and discuss if the temple has only religious meditation to offer or whether the ramifications of the temple are beyond just religion and percolate the socio-Economic aspects of our country.

POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS

 Let us first look at the political ramifications. The inauguration of temple at Ayodhya has propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party into a very strong, robust and powerful position in both the Hindi Heartland and the National Capital New Delhi.

BJP has emerged as the representative of the Hindu cause and other parties have been pitted against BJP either as opposing the popular sentiment or appeasing the minorities and ignoring the emotions of the majority.

 With the successful resolution and inauguration of the Ram Temple, there is a growing demand now to resolve the Kashi and Mathura issues and construct temples there as well.

 The ruling party BJP has been projecting the Ram Temple inauguration as the start of a journey towards establishment of “Ram Rajya” an ideological society governed by principles of Law, Truth and righteousness as Mahatma Gandhi had foreseen.

 The Muslim community overall remained law bound and those who were anticipating unrest in the country were proven wrong. This symbolises the maturity levels of the Muslims community.

 The temple inauguration is also historic politically. It is one of those rare instances where the head of the executive took on the symbolism of a high priest of a respective religion in a secular country like India.

The country’s Judiciary also deserves appreciation in this regard. The fact that the matter was debated, deliberated and resolved in the highest court of the country without resorting to extra judicial solutions speaks well about the restraint and faith shown by the BJP in the Judiciary of the country.

There is a section which is unhappy with the  Ram Temple construction. It is felt that when the nation has more pressing issues like Poverty, unemployment, malnutrition the government should concentrate on these problems than spending their time and resources for the construction of a grand temple.

INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

The inauguration of Ram Temple garnered headlines across the world. It also added to the existing soft power India wields in the subcontinent, the South East and Middle East and the Western World.

Hinduism practising diaspora is spread across the world in good numbers. The influence of Hinduism is very significant in the South East Asian region where Hinduism is not just a religious practice but it has percolated to become a part of the cultural ethos irrespective of religion. The epic Ramayana serves as the best example, Ramayana and its preachings are an integral part of various cultures in the region.

The middle eastern region, African region, Europe, USA and Australia have a sizable Hinduism practising population and their representation in both government and non government sectors is quite significant.

With the inauguration of Ram Temple and it being noticed by various countries as a very significant religious and cultural event serves in enhancing the value of the Hindu population and this definitely helps in providing a boost to India’s influence across the world.

ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

The inauguration of Ram Temple at Ayodhya would have significant economic implications in the times to come. The implications will be greatly beneficial for Uttar Pradesh and they will percolate to the national level too.

Tourism and hospitality, transportation sector, infrastructure development, employment opportunities, booming local businesses are the sectors that are projected to have significant benefit because of the construction of Ram Temple.

 Strict adherence to timelines without compromising on quality also enhances the image of Indian engineering and construction companies to the world.

According to a research by SBI, owing to Ram Temple and other tourism initiatives, Uttar Pradesh is expected to receive Rs. 25,000 crores in taxes for the year 2024-25. With the growth in tourism UP will become richer by 4 lakh crores this year. Foreign stock market research firm Jefferies estimates that Ayodhya will surpass Vatican City and Mecca in terms of numbers of devotees visiting the respective places.

As per estimates 5 crore devotees are expected to visit Ayodhya annually, 2 crore visits are expected in Mecca and 90 lakh visitors to Vatican City.

Government and private sector’s plan to build an international airport, an advanced railway station, a township and about 50 luxury hotels will make Ayodhya a hotspot for tourism.

Let us dive into the economic impact of such religious tourism sites.

Tirumala Tirupati Temples attracts 2.5 crore devotees annually and generates an annual income of Rs. 1200 crore/

Vaishno Devi receives 80 lakh devotees annually and gets an annual revenue of Rs. 500 crore.

Internationally if we see Mecca gets 2 crore visitors annually contributing to 12 billion USD. Vatican City gets 90 lakh visitors annually contributing to 315 million USD.

As per estimates over 10 crore devotees may visit Ayodhya annually and if each spends Rs. 2500 during their visit, the local economy will get a boost by Rs.25000 crore annually.

A visitor visiting Ayodhya would also visit Kashi and Mathura in UP and this way UP can receive an additional 1 Lakh crore directly each year.

Countries like Italy, Switzerland, America, UAE etc. Have achieved incomparable development based on tourism. The Ayodhya Ram Temple could add significant impetus to India’s initiative to join the above nations in harnessing the power of tourism for national development.

In the financial year 2019, tourism made a 194 billion USD contribution to the GDP. Reports forecast 8X CAGR and 443 billion USD contribution to GDP by 2033.

India’s tourism to GDP ratio is 6.8% and it is 3 to 5% points lower than that of developed and significant economies.

Cultural Implications

Ram Temple issue should not be seen in isolation. It must be viewed in its larger context of revival of Indian Heritage and shedding of the colonial past with the aim of developing a distinct Indian identity. We can term this as a dawn of cultural renaissance.

In not so distant future a new Mosque, to be the biggest in Asia, would come up in the same region. This will further the credentials of India’s “Sarv Dharma Sambhav”

Lord Rame since ages has been viewed as the most perfect embodiment of Dharma and justice. These qualities could get embedded in value rejuvenation among the populace.

Dalai Lama had once said “India’s great tradition of religious tolerance can be a role model for the entire world.” Ram temple construction and its wait for decades show that India has multiculturalism inbuilt in its traditions.

As Lord Rama is for everyone, it shows the collective rise above smaller identities, especially those related to caste and community.

Scholars say that an Indian nation without its cultural moorings is a non-starter. The emotional connect with Ram Mandir inauguration showed the national emotional and psychological unity.