“It is a wonderful pride for us that, despite everything, Lord Ram has returned home. Just as Christians have Vatican City and Muslims have Mecca, Ayodhya is for Hindus. This day has come after a long wait,” Mithilesh Jha, a resident of Janakpur, a city about 225 kilometers from Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, told The Quint.
While the pran pratishtha rite of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya takes place on January 22, the Janaki Temple in Janakpur is also the scene of celebrations.
Believed to be the mythical birthplace of Sita, the wife of Lord Ram, the temple, adorned with garlands and flowers, saw locals flock to commemorate the consecration of the temple, more than 500km away in India.
Diyas were lit in Janakpur on January 22.
(Photo: Facebook/Beautiful Janakpur Dham)
Janakpur, about 20 kilometers from the Indian border in northern Bihar, is the key site for Ram worship in elegant Nepal.
(Photo: Facebook/Nagendra Sah)
An aerial view of the Janaki Mandir on January 22.
(Photo: Facebook/Nagendra Sah)
A demonstration held in Janakpur on 22 January.
(Photo: Facebook/Nagendra Sah)
“We lit 1. 25 lakh clay lamps at the Janaki temple and celebrated Deepawali at night,” Jha added.
Nepal has been buoyed by collateral tourism prospects, and the country hopes that pilgrims from around the world who stop at Ram’s birthplace will also visit Sita’s birthplace.
Conceived by the government led by Narendra Modi in 2014, the Ramayana tour chronicles the life of Lord Ram and includes major pilgrimage sites such as the Ramayana, Janakpur.
Rajendra Lindgen, chairman and spokesperson of the pro-monarchist Rashtriya Prajantra party, told The Quint: “The Ram Temple represents a proud moment for all fans of Sanatan Dharma. There is nothing less than a refuge for Hindus. “
Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji on the inauguration of Ayodhya Ram Mandir. The sacred rite of Prana Pratishtha indicates a proud moment for all fans of Sanatan Dharma. Jai Shree Ram!ð pic. twitter. com/Za2F6lJHrs
Beyond tourism, however, many also see a truth similar to the consecration of the Temple of Ram: the rise of Hindu nationalism in Nepal.
Chandra Kishore, a political analyst and media commentator, told The Quint that Janakpur is at the center of the Hindu nationalism that engulfs Nepal.
“This was catalyzed in 2020 when the pandemic broke out. Anti-Muslim conspiracy theories have played a significant role in Hindutva propaganda in India and Nepal, on the other hand, “Indian right-wing news channels have generated exaggerated reports that Muslim men infected with COVID-19 were being sent from Pakistan to India via Nepal,” he explained.
Islamophobic disinformation generated in India appears to have influenced social media users in Nepal, who have taken an anti-Muslim stance, he said.
In April 2020, during the first wave of the COVID pandemic, several Muslim women in Janakpur were accused of spitting on rupee bills, infecting them, and then leaving them on the ground for others to become infected.
“As a result, Islamophobic messages from Nepali Muslim women went viral,” Kishore recalls.
However, he added that there is a fundamental difference between Hindutva policy in India and Nepal.
Mahesh Kumar Kushwaha, a Nepalese journalist, noted in an editorial in a local newspaper that the Ram temple determination rite and jubilation were pronounced in the plains of southern Nepal.
It is the domain where most Madhesis, most commonly other people of Indian origin, live near the borders of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India.
Local governments in Nepal’s Madhesh province “did more than just acknowledge the occasion and issued calls for action,” the journalist added.
For example, he writes, Birgunj, another city near the Bihar border, banned the slaughter of animals and the sale of fish, meat and eggs on January 22. The Janakpur Municipality also issued separate advisories, asking other people to do any form of animal sacrifice or eating of meat, fish or alcohol, and to commemorate the day with luminaries and celebrations.
“Emboldened Hindu supremacy across the border is likely to encourage similar aspirations in Nepal, albeit led by right-wing groups. This will further polarise the Nepalese society, where Muslim and other non-Hindu minorities will increasingly be targets of religious extremism and disharmony. Such developments will push the country towards religious conflicts and communal violence. Nepal avoided such incidents in towns across the border only months ago,” he stated.
Analyst Chandra Kishore added that in today’s Nepal, even mainstream political parties (even the avowed leftist ones) are competing with each other to “cloak themselves in saffron.”
He added that the Ram Temple has just given “momentum to this rising Hindu nationalism” in Nepal.
Communal violence was unheard of in Nepal, experts said.
“Religious syncretism is and has been a feature of Nepal. Latent devotional tension is a relatively new phenomenon,” says Santosh Sharma Poudel, a professor in the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University and a co-founder of Nepal. Institute for Policy Research, he told The Quint.
He added: “What else better explains syncretism than the fact that Kumari Devi, a child deity of the Newari network who is Buddhist, is worshipped by Hindus. But this secular fabric is slowly unraveling. “
On 23 November 2023, a pro-monarchy ‘Hindu Rashtra’ rally took place in Kathmandu. Tens of thousands of protestors descended on the capital and clashed with police.
In September 2023, a curfew was imposed near Malangwa, located near the border with India, following a clash between the Hindu and Muslim communities and an immersion rite in Ganesh Chaturthi. A dozen more people were injured, and a 24-year-old man was reportedly stabbed multiple times with a dagger for the violence.
Then, in August 2023, the Nepalese city of Dharan was on the brink of a network outbreak. On August 20, 2023, two citizens of Dharan livestreamed a dinner party at which they were allegedly seen eating meat. The party was meant to celebrate his release from police custody. In the past they had been arrested for shooting a bull. As the cow is the national animal of Nepal, its slaughter is punishable by law.
According to the BBC, in April 2023, communal tensions surrounding the Ram Navami protests were first observed in Nepal.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)
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“It is a matter of great pride for us that Lord Ram has finally come home. Like Christians have Vatican City and Muslims have Mecca, Ayodhya is for Hindus. This day has come after a long wait,” Mithilesh Jha, a resident of Janakpur, a city roughly 225 km away from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, told The Quint.
While the pran pratishtha rite of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya takes place on January 22, the Janaki Temple in Janakpur is also the scene of celebrations.
Considered to be the mythical birthplace of Lord Ram’s consort Sita, the temple, which was adorned with garlands and flowers, saw locals turn up in large numbers to commemorate the consecration of the temple, located more than 500 km away in India.
Diyas were lit in Janakpur on January 22.
(Photo: Facebook/Belle Janakpur Dham)
Janakpur, which is located roughly 20 km from the Indian border in northern Bihar, is the key site of Ram worship in modern Nepal.
(Photo: Facebook/ Nagendra Sah)
An aerial view of the Janaki Mandir on January 22.
(Photo: Facebook/ Nagendra Sah)
A rally held in Janakpur on January 22.
(Photo: Facebook/Nagendra Sah)
“We lit 1. 25 lakh clay lamps at the Janaki temple and celebrated Deepawali at night,” Jha added.
Nepal has been buoyed by the collateral tourism prospects, with the country hoping pilgrims from across the world, who visit Ram’s birthplace, also make a trip to Sita’s birthplace.
Conceived by the Narendra Modi-led government in 2014, the Ramayana excursion chronicles the life of Lord Ram and includes major pilgrimage sites like Ramayana, Janakpur.
Rajendra Lindgen, chairman and spokesperson of the pro-monarchist Rashtriya Prajantra party, told The Quint: “The Ram Temple represents a proud moment for all fans of Sanatan Dharma. There is nothing less than a refuge for Hindus. “
Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji on the inauguration of Ayodhya Ram Mandir. The sacred rite of Prana Pratishtha indicates a proud moment for all fans of Sanatan Dharma. Jai Shree Ram!ð pic. twitter. com/Za2F6lJHrs
Beyond tourism, however, many also see a truth similar to the consecration of the Temple of Ram: the rise of Hindu nationalism in Nepal.
Chandra Kishore, a political analyst and media commentator, told The Quint, that Janakpur is at the heart of the Hindu nationalism that is enveloping Nepal.
“It sort of catalysed in 2020 when the pandemic broke out. Anti-Muslim conspiracy theories played a large role in Hindutva propaganda in India as well as across the border in Nepal. Right-wing news Indian channels generated exaggerated reports that Muslim men infected with COVID-19 were sent from Pakistan to India by way of Nepal,” he explained.
Islamophobic disinformation generated in India appears to have influenced social media users in Nepal, who have taken an anti-Muslim stance, he said.
In April 2020, the first wave of the COVID pandemic, several Muslim women in Janakpur were accused of spitting out rupee notes, infecting them, and then leaving them on the ground for others to infect.
“As a result, Islamophobic messages from Nepali Muslim women went viral,” Kishore recalls.
However, he added that there is a fundamental difference between Hindutva policy in India and Nepal.
Mahesh Kumar Kushwaha, a Nepalese journalist, noted in an editorial in a local newspaper that the Ram temple determination rite and jubilation were pronounced in the plains of southern Nepal.
It is the domain where most Madhesis, most commonly other people of Indian origin, live near the borders of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India.
Local governments in Nepal’s Madhesh province “did more than just acknowledge the occasion and issued calls for action,” the journalist added.
For example, he writes, Birgunj, another town near the border with Bihar, banned the slaughter of animals and the sale of fish, meat and eggs on January 22. The Janakpur municipality also issued separate notices, asking people to stop slaughtering animals or eating meat, fish or alcohol, and to commemorate the day with lights and celebrations.
“Emboldened Hindu supremacy across the border is likely to encourage similar aspirations in Nepal, albeit led by right-wing groups. This will further polarise the Nepalese society, where Muslim and other non-Hindu minorities will increasingly be targets of religious extremism and disharmony. Such developments will push the country towards religious conflicts and communal violence. Nepal avoided such incidents in towns across the border only months ago,” he stated.
Analyst Chandra Kishore added that in today’s Nepal, even the major political parties (even those of the avowed left) compete with each other to “cover themselves in saffron. “
He added that the Ram Temple has just given “momentum to this rising Hindu nationalism” in Nepal.
Community violence is unprecedented in Nepal, experts say.
“Religious syncretism is and has been a feature of Nepal. Latent devotional tension is a relatively new phenomenon,” says Santosh Sharma Poudel, a professor in the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University and a co-founder of Nepal. Institute for Policy Research, he told The Quint.
He added: “What else better explains syncretism than the fact that Kumari Devi, a child deity of the Newari network who is Buddhist, is worshiped by Hindus. But this secular fabric is slowly unraveling. “
On November 23, 2023, a pro-monarchist “Hindu Rashtra” demonstration was held in Kathmandu. Tens of thousands of protesters arrived in the capital and clashed with police.
In September 2023, a curfew was imposed near Malangwa, located near the border with India, following a clash between the Hindu and Muslim communities and a Ganesh Chaturthi immersion rite. A dozen more people were injured, and a 24-year-old man was reportedly stabbed several times with a dagger in the violence.
Then, in August 2023, the Nepalese city of Dharan was on the brink of a network outbreak. On August 20, 2023, two citizens of Dharan livestreamed a dinner party at which they were allegedly seen eating meat. The party was meant to celebrate his release from police custody. They had already been arrested for slaughtering a bull. As the cow is the national animal of Nepal, its slaughter is punishable by law.
In April 2023, communal tensions surrounding Ram Navami rallies were seen for the first time in Nepal, according to BBC.
(At The Quint, we are accountable to our audience. Take an active role in shaping our journalism by adding a member. Because the fact is worth it. )
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