On way to Ayodhya, Ram is omnipresent, jostled by other concerns

There is Ram on flags, stoles, stickers and diyas as west UP gets ready to celebrate consecration; Muslims hold on to "peace", say Babri has nothing to do with them. IT IS almost noon and the winter fog has just begun to lift. From a distance, one can spot an array of saffron flags featuring Lord Ram fluttering at the shop of Joginder Singh. Located in Meerut on the Delhi-Meerut-Baghpat road, the shop also has on sale Diwali diyas, and piles of stickers and stoles with Ayodhya’s Ram Temple as the theme. A solitary Tricolour jostles for space.“Republic Day is coming, but there is greater enthusiasm for the Ram Temple inauguration. A lot of Shri Ram and Rudra Hanuman flags are being bought,” says Singh, 30. He usually sells baby diapers for a living. “But seeing the enthusiasm around Ram Temple, I have started selling these.” An Armyman, posted in Sikkim and at the shop bargaining for a flag, says, “it is all thanks to Baba (Yogi Adityanath)”.

“Now we will celebrate January 22 (the day of the consecration of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya) like Diwali.”Across these western UP districts on the way from Delhi to Ayodhya, which have a significant Muslim population and history of communal tension, the excitement over the Ram Temple is palpable but uneven – tempered by caste, by religion, often, just daily pressures. The Indian Express interacted mostly with those born after the Babri Masjid demolition of 1992, unburdened by the weight of that history, their worldview shaped by the new temple narrative. Across the street, Sumit Sharma, a cigarette shop owner, and Sunny — both 30 – are discussing holding a drive to collect money from shopkeepers to decorate the market with lights on January 22. The talk moves on to how “(Prime Minister) Modi has put Muslims in their place”. Have Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan donated for the temple, they ask. “After three decades, the sacrifice of Hindus is bearing fruition. People are euphoric,” beams Sharma.

A Brahmin who loves watching YouTube videos, particularly those of his favourite “Khan sir”, Sharma adds: “Once this market was dominated by Muslims. But after the 1987 riots, they retreated to the main city.” Sunny, who is a Kumhar (an OBC caste), says there are more changes ahead. “You will soon see crowds at Mathura Vrindavan falling by half. Krishna’s time is over, Ram is rising.”Outside the gates of the Meerut Institute of Technology, where students are waiting in biting cold to appear for their exams, this euphoria is more nuanced. “I am not interested in politics,” says Jai Dwivedi, when asked about the Ram Temple. “Though it is okay, there should be more focus on education and healthcare. There is not one good government hospital one can go to. People sell their land to get their loved ones treated.”