India inaugurates Ram Mandir at razed Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya

India on Monday inaugurated Ram Mandir at the razed Babri Masjid site in the flashpoint city of Ayodhya.

Inaugurating the grand temple, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it heralded “a new era” for India.

The newly constructed temple for $217m (£170m), funded from private donations, replaced a 16th-century iconic mosque torn down by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking riots in which nearly 2,000 people died.

“Today’s date will go down in history,” Modi said after the event.

“After years of struggle and countless sacrifices, Lord Ram has arrived [home]. I want to congratulate every citizen of the country on this historic occasion.”

It is pertinent to mention here that the movement to build the temple helped propel the BJP into political prominence in the 1990s.

Only the ground floor has been opened while the rest is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The construction work is part of a revamp for the city, estimated to cost more than $3bn.

The inauguration of the temple was witnessed by many A-list celebrities including film stars, actors, and cricketers.

An hour-long ceremony called Pran Pratishtha, which loosely translates from Sanskrit into “establishment of life force”, was telecast live showing PM Modi performing religious rituals inside the temple’s sanctum along with priests and Mohan Bhagwat, head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the ideological fountainhead of Hindu nationalist parties.

Many of the attendees of the ceremony took to social media to express their excitement.