A new Memorial Temple, built as a tribute to the decades-long Ram Temple movement, is set to open soon within the Ayodhya Ram Temple premises.
The memorial stands at the site of a makeshift temple where Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath carried the idol of Ram Lalla on March 25, 2020, before construction of the main temple began. The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has now built a permanent memorial at that location, dedicated to what officials describe as the 27-year journey of the Ram Temple movement and Ram Lalla’s passage “from a makeshift tent to the grand temple.”
Temple Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Mishra said construction of both the original makeshift temple structure and the adjoining memorial is complete, and that it would open to the public soon as a symbol of remembrance.
The memorial has been built using teak wood with detailed carvings, and its exterior has been designed to match the red sandstone architecture of the main temple. At its centre sits an electric “akhand jyoti,” or eternal flame, representing remembrance of the Ram Janmabhoomi struggle. Mishra explained that an electric flame was chosen because the memorial is a wooden structure, and a heat-generating flame could pose a fire risk.
The original foldable tent that once housed the Ram Lalla idol will also be preserved inside the memorial. An old idol of Lord Hanuman, which was reportedly kept under the same tent as Ram Lalla before the main temple’s completion, will remain inside the memorial rather than being moved to the temple’s main sanctum.
Alongside the memorial temple, the Trust has also constructed a separate memorial pillar dedicated to those who lost their lives during the decades-long Ram Temple movement. The pillar features a sun-shaped element at its top, along with an engraved depiction of Lord Ram and the Trust’s slogan, “Ramo Vigrahawan Dharma,” meaning “Ram is the embodiment of Dharma.”
No official date has been announced for the public opening. Mishra said the decision rests with the Trust’s CEO, with officials still assessing security arrangements and expected pilgrim footfall before finalising the timeline.
(Source: The Indian Express)
