'Centuries-old wounds healing today': PM Modi hoists 'Ram Dhwaja' atop Ayodhya temple

Lucknow: Almost 22 months after the ‘pran pratistha’ (consecration) of ‘Ram lalla’, prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hoisted the ‘Ram Dhwaja’ (flag) on the spire of the newly constructed Ram Temple in Ayodhya in the presence of thousands of guests marking formal completion of Ram Temple construction saying that ‘centuries old wounds have healed today’.

A visibly emotional Modi, hoisted the saffron colored triangular shaped flag, on the 161 feet high spire of the Ram Temple, amid chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ reverberated in Ayodhya and said that the ‘wounds of centuries had been healed today’.

The seers and saints, who were witness to this historic moment, were seen wiping tears as the ‘dharm dhwaja’ (flag) was hoisted by the prime minister by pushing a button.

The 11 feet wide and 21-feet long flag weighing around two kilograms carries symbols of ‘Suryavansh’ (the clan to which Lord Rama belonged) and the ‘Treta Yuga’.

‘’Aaj sadiyon ke ghav bhar gaye hain’’ (centuries old wounds have healed today), Modi said.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who was also present there, said that the ‘faith of crores of devotees have been fulfilled today’.

In his address on this occasion, the prime minister said that Lord Rama was the ‘symbol of strength in humility’. ‘’We must remain attached with our roots ... .be proud of your heritage…we must make ourselves free from the mentality of slave’’, he said.

‘’We will have to unshackle ourselves from the slave mentality symbolized by Lord Macaulay (the British historian, who played a key role in framing colonial India’s education policy in the 1860s under which English education was made compulsory)….though we became free but we could not free ourselves from slave mentality,’’ he added.

In an indirect jab at the Congress he said that it was the ‘mentality of slavery’ which prompted some to say that Lord Rama was a ‘mythical character’.

Modi sought to liken his government’s policies to those existed during the ‘Ram Rajya’ and said that in making Lord Rama the ‘Marya Purshottam’ (ideal person) , people like Mata Ahilya, sages like Vishwamitra, Vashishta, played important roles.

‘’Tribals, women, women, dalits, deprived sections, youths are at the centre of our development policies….we believe in moving forward with cooperation and not by force,’’ he said.

Modi, who began his speech with the chanting of ‘Jai Shree Ram’, said that the hoisting of the ‘dharm dhwaja’ was the culmination of the ‘yajna’ (a ritual by fire) whose flames kept burning for 500 years.

Earlier Modi, accompanied by Bhagwat and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath performed puja at the Annapurna Temple inside the Ram Temple complex.

Flags were also hoisted on the seven other temples within the Ram Temple complex on this occasion.