A groundbreaking ceremony in Ayodhya
The TLDR: PM Modi performed the bhoomi pujan (groundbreaking ceremony) to kick off construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya—in circumstances that the BJP or its supporters could not have foreseen. India added 56,695 new cases of Covid-19 to its surging tally of 1,961,357. Elaborate arrangements were made to follow pandemic protocols. We examine photos and videos to assess the Covid safety procedures followed both in Ayodhya and beyond.
The background:
- The initial spread of the virus in India was blamed on the Tablighi Jamaat—whose annual conference became a “superspreader event.” Of the 4,400 cases recorded in April, nearly a third were related to the gathering.
- Since then, religious institutions and celebrations have come under greater scrutiny—though to varying extents.
- Curfews were imposed around both Eid holidays to discourage gatherings in various states.
- But the Tirumala Tirupathi temple is open to pilgrims even though 179 employees have tested positive—including 20 priests and several temple kitchen workers.
- More recently, the head priest of the Ram Mandir was forced to opt out of the big event because two priests tested positive—as did 16 policemen guarding the temple site.
- The guest list for the ceremony was therefore limited to 175 people—of whom 135 were religious leaders. But the list excluded some most closely associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign, such as LK Advani—allegedly because he is too old and vulnerable.
- A day before the event, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath declared: "COVID-19 protocol will be strictly followed at the event.” And various leaders urged devotees to celebrate at home.
- The safety measures included extensive sanitization and fumigation of not just the temple, but also nearby roads. Also: A rule requiring 8 feet of distance between attendees.
So let’s see how the event actually panned out.
The impeccable PM Modi
The PM was fully masked from the moment he stepped out of the helicopter at Ayodhya where he was greeted by Adityanath from a safe distance. The UP CM also made an effort to stay a few feet behind or away from the PM at all times.
Thanks to the full-coverage mask, Modi-ji sometimes looked a bit bizarre like so:
He was very careful except for the less-than-eight-feet encounters with mask-less priests during the actual puja—as you can see here:
Also confused about correct use of masks: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Point to note: It is mandatory to wear masks in public places in India.
The not-so-impeccable Ram Janmabhoomi
In stark contrast to the pristine PM-focused photo-ops (see this classic example), Ayodhya itself was in a state of blissful chaos. This is Ayodhya preparing for Modi-ji:
Also see: this video of a fully unmasked ‘Ram aarti’ on August 4.
This is Yogi-ji offering prayers at a Hanuman temple on August 3:
This is Yogi-ji talking to reporters after Modi-ji’s departure:
Oh, and this is what the roads near the temple site looked like during the ceremony.
And to round it off, here’s a video of priests who travelled from Rajasthan to the city—with pavitra jal on their heads, but nary a mask on their faces.
Last, but not least, khaas mehmaan Baba Ramdev’s arrival in Ayodhya. Even an eight-feet distance is insufficient protection from this kind of foolishness. Maybe the PM would have been better off inviting the unexpectedly snubbed Sri Sri.
The not-staying-at-home devotees
BJP supporters in Delhi celebrated the happy occasion like so (more pics here):
These are Vishwa Hindu Parishad members celebrating in Chennai (a nationwide gallery of similar festivities here):
The perfectly distanced billboard
Oddly, there wasn’t a deluge of images of NRI celebrations. This one in the US looks fairly tame. And one video of Ram madness in Spain turned out to be fake. But, hey, both Lord Ram and his mandir made it to Times Square.
Of course, rude folks on Twitter pointed out the irony of Ram-ji occupying the same space offered to less divine brands.
The bottomline: The government imposed a total curfew in Kashmir on the very same day as the bhoomi pujan. The reason: It is also the anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370. But that didn’t stop mask-less BJP workers in Kashmir from celebrating the occasion:
Too bad, the same leniency wasn’t extended to this ambulance trapped behind barbed wire: