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Dharmic SEZ and ‘Hindu Renaissance’: Ram Rajya for the Rich

Swati Krishna

If there is a fire, it will consume many houses, not just my house

– Rahat Indori

In the glam and grandeur of shining Ayodhya, like the Ram Lalla, people are also mere ornaments.

Their consent is irrelevant.

When mainstream media shoves a mic in their faces, they will smile and chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’. TV channels have a big role to play in making and showing this celebration. The city is decorated with saffron flags with a ‘masculine Hanuman’ printed on them. There is tight surveillance.

But, behind the glitz of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, reports essay a story of massive land grab by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh combine and it is common knowledge that this has meant colossal profits for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Legal sanction

A total of 4,000 shops and homes have been demolished for road-widening projects and the general beautification of Ayodhya, according to a report by Scroll. For fear of the government – and in the name of Ram – people gave up their lands.

Such stories are heard all over the city which would resemble a tribal village in the Indian heartland where the rights of residents are ignored in the name of development-driven land takeovers.

If it wasn’t for the unrelenting religious pageantry and positive narratives spun by mainstream media, this, indeed would have been the case. However, the displaced people cannot utter a word in protest lest they be labelled “anti-Hindu.”

Over the years, it is common knowledge that the VHP has been collecting donations for a Ram temple.

Vast tracts of land in Ayodhya are under the hold of the VHP-RSS, who have allegedly often occupied it forcibly or through a degree of coercion.

Ayodhya District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha, notably, is a member of the temple trust.

It is common knowledge that it is not just the 2.77 acres of land that was given to the Ram Janmabhoomi trust after the Supreme Court’s verdict, but that large sections of Ayodhya have been sold at profit to businesses.

Recently an investigation about land dealings between local BJP leaders and the Adani group has come to light. The firm linked to BJP leaders sold ecologically sensitive land near Saryu river to Adani for a big profit. This is not the first instance of land exchanging hands between BJP leaders and Ram temple trust. In June 2021, Deep Narayan, nephew of Ayodhya’s BJP mayor Rishikesh Upadhyaya bought 890 square metres of property in February and sold it to the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust for Rs 2.5 crore in May.

It was found to be government land which cannot be sold to another party.

These are some of the stories that have come to light. Many have not.

Wealth transfer

According to the Ayodhya district administration, all the land is government land. But there has not been any formal classification of this nazul land. Those who have been living on the land for generations but have no land patta are only compensated for the demolition, not the acquisition of their land. There have been allegations that the compensation is also based on class and caste. Brahmin neighbourhoods have been appropriately compensated while those belonging to other castes have had to give up their land for peanuts or are still waiting for compensation.

Since the zamindari system was not implemented in cities, the land belonged to landlords and tenants had been living and cultivating it for generations. The landlords themselves were unable to evict the tenants. Here too, the administration has allegedly gone ahead and directly demolished houses leaving many tenants homeless. It was landlords who were compensated.

Three years ago, the administration wanted to acquire land near the Ayodhya airport for installation of a large Ram statue. Local farmers protested against the land acquisition and were arrested. Many priests are also unhappy with the fact that smaller temples have been demolished to make way for the new city.

The atmosphere of coercion over land is a well known secret.

Afaq Ullah, a social activist, mentions a saying that is famous in Ayodhya now, “Pehle jab Bhagwan Ram tirpal me rehte the tab hum ghar me rehte the, ab Bhagwan Ram ka mandir ban raha hai aur hum log tirpal me aa gaye hai.”

Translated, it say that earlier Lord Ram was living under a tarpaulin and we were living in homes, now Lord Ram’s temple is being built and we are living under a tarpaulin.

A project

Afaq’s house is in the ’14-Kosi Parikrama’ circumambulation route. He is saddened that the front of his house is being demolished and like many residents of the city, he cannot do much. He is also worried about the general sense of fear in the Muslim community.

At 40 years old, Afaq does not have many memories of the Babri Masjid demolition but the change in the last 30 years is palpable, he says.

“Earlier people would hesitate in saying certain things. Now, if we are sitting and someone gets angry, they don’t flinch before saying anti-Muslim slurs,” he says.

The change hasn’t gone unnoticed by professor Anil Kumar Singh who was a Masters student in 1992. “The way Muslims are being alienated in society hides the fact that theywere more than happy for the Ram temple to be built. But this temple now is a VHP-RSS project; it is not a temple for Hindus,” he said.

Singh mentions Sheetla Singh who was a veteran journalist and writer from Faizabad. He has written the book, Ayodhya: The Truth of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid on one of the most important events of Indian politics, the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992 and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. In the book he has given details of how the leaders of the Muslim community had taken the initiative for the construction of the Ram temple, but that this was not in the Sangh’s political interests.

Changing times

Earlier, Faizabad and Ayodhya were two separate municipalities. The Faizabad station was bigger and there was only a 10-12 km distance between the two stations. After Adityanath came to power, in his renaming drive, Faizabad station was renamed ‘Ayodhya Cantonment’ and Ayodhya was called ‘Ayodhya Dham’.

“Its a city built near Sarayu river, it was beautiful and calm. I used to go to Ayodhya many times during my college days. Now it has become glamorised and commercial and is no longer the serene Ayodhya town. Everything old is being broken down,” Afaq says, reminiscing the old times.

Afaq has decided to become the chronicler of the times and has been collecting newspaper clippings for the last 15 days. “In the next 10-20 years, if a student or journalist comes, I can show them what the local newspapers are printing. Six out of eight pages are devoted to Ram temple-related news”.

Many argue for the tourism and job opportunities in the religious city. Afaq says, “Yes, infrastructure has been built. Everything is grand now. But who will be able to afford an organised tourism company, travel agencies, hotel industries, etc? Definitely not the locals…”.

Professor Singh says that in 1992, when the Masjid was demolished by people from outside the city, locals had understood that it was a political ploy.

“There was a deep understanding and feeling of brotherhood among communities. BJP even lost elections after the demolition. But post-Babri generations have only seen RSS and BJP’s andolans. There is no sense of history now. The youth now says, ‘Where will our temple be built if not at Ayodhya?’. It is being showcased as the Hindu renaissance and hatred has spread everywhere,” Singh adds.

(Swati Krishna is an activist and political observer. Courtesy: The Wire.)

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Temple Construction Meant Small Business Owners in Ayodhya Lost Money – and Hope

Sabah Gurmat

The 13-kilometre stretch of Ayodhya’s arterial road, newly christened the ‘Ram Path’, is all lit up, with facades of each building, home and shop covered in a similar set of symbols and painted a uniform white and beige. In what many hail as a sign of development, the town’s shiny new roads and ongoing construction activities have all focused on the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir on January 22.

While construction of the Ram temple complex – built after the demolition of the Babri Masjid – is yet to be finished and will reportedly go on until 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the consecration ceremony has been advertised in almost every corner, across posters, billboards and advertisements in town.

But for Rakesh Kumar Gupta, life has only gone from “bad to worse”. Sixty-three-year-old Gupta lives in the locality of Niyawan, where authorities demolished dozens of establishments with the aim of widening the stretch of the road that now forms the ‘Ram Path’. A former grocery shop owner, he now finds himself struggling to find work.

“They (the SDM and police) came at night, we were not even given a prior date, and our homes here were demolished. We were only given prior information about them looking to widen the roads, but we had no idea it would happen this way,” a beleaguered Gupta said.

In January 2023, a JCB bulldozed his three-storey establishment, in the presence of police officers and district authorities. The ground floor functioned as a grocery store, and the storeys above were his residence and supplies storage area. More than a year since the demolition, Gupta and his wife now live elsewhere in the home of their son, their own home yet to be rebuilt. “I have four children who are thankfully all independent. If they were still in school, my wife and I would be actually homeless because we’d have nowhere to live. But there are hundreds of such shopkeepers in this area, in Janoura, Ramnagar and so many other localities who’ve lost their homes or are now living on rent,” he told The Wire.

The advent of the Ram temple has given the entire town a facelift, with the building and widening of roads, a revamped drainage system and railway station, and an airport. These changes are also ushering in a boom in property prices and real estate deals, along with hotel owners and leading corporate houses investing in this new temple town.

But, despite a whopping Rs 30,000 crore being spent on this ‘new Ayodhya’, locals like Gupta are now paying the price of this development. Gupta, who built his three-storey residence in 1998, estimates the total value of his home and the land at “Rs 80 lakh”, but claims that authorities compensated him with a paltry Rs 9 lakh.

“They just gave us compensation for the bricks, not for the land which the government claims is theirs. I see no hope of getting more, it’s been over a year now. They also said they’d widen the road by 10 metres, but actually took away 12 metres,” he said despondently.

A few shops down the same road in Niyawan is Satyaprakash Gupta’s small storefront. The 45 year old also owned a three-storey home, with the ground floor serving as his shop and workplace, but the home whose value he estimates at over Rs 40 lakh was compensated with just Rs 9 lakh. Even as he used the compensation amount to rebuild his shop, he now lives on rent with his wife and three children, owing to the inability to rebuild the upper floors that once used to be the family’s residence.

“I was the only earning member in the family. Ever since the demolition, we haven’t had the resources to rebuild this entirely, so I decided to rent a place for us to live. For 10 months, I didn’t even have this shop, I drove an e-rickshaw to make ends meet and only got back to this now”, he said wearily. Satprakash’s three children are in school and college, with his eldest son having to stop his MA degree, because he “did not have the money to fill his fees”.

While construction and painting are still ongoing in Ayodhya’s three main roads now known as the ‘Ram Path’, ‘Ram Janmabhoomi Path’ and ‘Bhakti Path’, an estimate of between 4,000 and 4,500 shops and homes have been broken down or displaced, according to Nand Kumar Gupta who heads the Ayodhya Udyog Vyapar Mandal traders’ union.

In Jalpa, women like Sumitra Devi claimed to have “protested at first”, but have now been silenced into submission. Like Rakesh and Satya Prakash Gupta, she too owned a home and shop selling general supplies, only to see it razed. When contacted, the office of Ayodhya Development Authority’s chairman Vishal Singh said that questions of compensation and road-building were under the district magistrate and PWD department’s office. The Wire has reached out to them for a comment and this story shall be updated when they respond.

For Muslim-owned businesses, it’s not just economic loss and damages

Even as the lack of fair compensation has led to a sense of disillusionment, many shop owners like the Guptas continued to echo the belief that the temple would bring in an influx of religious tourism and cash flow. Despite his own resentment at the loss of his home and shop, Rakesh Kumar Gupta expressed enthusiasm for the Ram temple.

“We are Hindus, there is no question about our beliefs in the Ram temple,” he said, adding that he was a child who witnessed firsthand when violence broke out as karsevaks demolished the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992. “That was bound to happen,” he said, but refused to comment on whether he endorsed the violence that ensued. To those like him, the temple itself feels like a matter of personal faith and belief for Lord Ram, separate from their scrambling to save their demolished homes and businesses destroyed under the proposed development plan for the town.

But others are not so sure, with Muslim-owned businesses having incurred losses not only in the process of construction work, but also as the promise of a temple town brings with it the exclusion of certain professions and communities. Virtually every shop in Ayodhya’s Bakra Mandi locality has been shut for the past week, with butchers from the area claiming that supplies that came from Bareilly have stopped.

“There’s no official notice or orders, we ourselves have stopped work for this week because devotees from all over India will be coming here, and we don’t want to offend anyone in a way that’ll cause harm to our shops,” said Farid Qureshi, who emphasised that the decision was taken of their own accord.

The state government has meanwhile issued orders for the closure of all meat shops in the state on January 22. Chief secretary D.S. Mishra reportedly directed all district magistrates to order meat and alcohol shops to remain shut for the day. While chief minister Adityanath has repeatedly emphasised in the past that the sale of meat and liquor will be banned for good in the “dharamnagri” of Ayodhya, so far there has been no official order to that effect.

“There has been a prohibition on selling non-veg and alcohol for the 4-5 km radius around the temple, this has been the case for decades even under the Samajwadi Party government,” a local butcher told The Wire. But it’s the start of notices and increase in talks with district administration that has many worried that this prohibition is expected to be expanded to 15 km.

Mohammad Irfan, a meat-supplier and activist affiliated to the Tanzimul Quraish union of meat-sellers, said that as of now, the Food Security and Drug Administration department had sent notice regarding a ban on the sale of freshly cut meat in the open. “We have been told not to cut meat in the open on the roads since it is a holy town, but to instead sell packaged frozen meat. There is no ban on meat as such yet, but we do not know what’ll happen ultimately. It’s all going to become clear after the 22nd of January,” he noted.

Despite no official ban, an estimated 150 to 175 butchers and shops have been hit by the FSDA norms. Irfan pointed out that the decision could affect the livelihood of more than 500 families, especially causing job losses to those establishments with “3-4 extra hands working in each shop”.

In Niyawan, Faizan Qureshi, who continues to operate his shop and sell freshly cut meat for now, expressed concern that his employees would lose out. “They say it’s a holy place, so we should respect sentiments by not cutting or displaying meat in the open. I understand that for the area near the temple, but how can they extend this for up to 15 km? Even if I can afford to switch to prepackaged and frozen meat, then I will need less manpower and will have to fire the other staff,” he said.

Qureshi also believes that such a ban, if implemented, wouldn’t sustain in correlation with the rise in hotels and real estate ventures. With hotel chains like the Radisson, Oberoi and Taj groups having already begun or lining up to set up shop in the town, the young meat seller still holds hope that ongoing talks with district authorities could see fruition.

Yet, it’s not just the Muslim-dominated meat trade which could see prospects dim, as a climate of fear and chilling effect looms over the nearly four lakh Muslims in the region even otherwise. In Asharfi Bhavan, a neighbourhood located close to the Ram Janmabhoomi complex, rumours are abuzz that the proximity to the temple can cause physical and communal tensions to simmer.

“This area was targeted in 1992, there are many Muslim families living here. I wasn’t born back then, but me and my cousins are worried that devotees from outside can come and try provoking people here on purpose,” said 24-year-old Mohammad Aamir.

Rising fears and forced uniformity

As tensions heighten across the town, reports suggest that residents have demanded police protection and additional security measures in “sensitive” neighbourhoods like Verma Colony, Tedhi Bazar and Baheliya Tola neighbourhoods beside the AC Masjid and the Asharfi Bhawan water tank, among other places, all of which saw communal violence in 1992 as well.

Across the arterial roads as well, every shop’s shutter has been painted a uniform set of Hindu religious symbols and iconography from the Ramayana. MH, a Muslim shopkeeper who did not wish to disclose his name, told The Wire that he was given a list of “five to six options of symbols to choose from, including a mace, shankh (conch), swastika, Jai Shri Ram slogan, and damru”, by the contractors who had come to paint. He chose a symbol of the mace, with another Muslim shopowner in the lane opting for a damru.

Even as several across the country watch the consecration and its aftermath with bated breath, these spatial changes and socio-economic losses experienced by Ayodhya’s locals leave several questions. ZR, a Muslim man in his 40s who runs a marble and tiles business, said in resignation that they had “no choice but to comply” because all of this is part of the redevelopment and new layout.

He added, “Everyone is talking about the airport and hotels, about Amitabh Bachchan coming here and buying property now. But what about us locals? And not just Muslims, even Hindu shopkeepers have suffered. Homes and shops have been demolished, the entire look and feel of the place has been changed and forced to look all alike. Will this development bring back all these livelihoods?”

(Sabah Gurmat is an independent journalist based in New Delhi. Courtesy: The Wire.)

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Survival at Stake: Meat, Liquor Ban Hits Livelihoods of Thousands in Ayodhya

Abdul Alim Jafri

Saddam, a chicken shop owner at Mewatipura market, has been supporting his seven family members for the past 10 years by selling chicken, but his shop has been rendered indefinitely non-functional after the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government recently banned the sale of meat in 84 Kos Parikrama Marg of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The decision has affected a large number of livelihoods in the old city, also known as Faizabad.

Saddam says has been thinking of exploring alternative livelihood options or going back to another city for livelihood, but dilemma clouds in his mind — what job will he get as unskilled worker?

“For 10 years, we have been running a chicken shop in Mewatipura. The sudden ban on meat selling has left us in the lurch. It is extremely worrying because this was the only source income for me to pay for the education of my children and take care of the household,” Saddam, a lone breadwinner, told NewsClick.

The only alternative meat sellers have been given by the Food Security and Drug Administration department as of now is to sell packaged frozen meat that will directly come from Punjab.

Doubting the government’s intention, Dastagir Ahmad, secretary of Tanzimul Quraish, a union of meat sellers in the city, told NewsClick that, “At least 90% of those involved in this trade are Muslims and 90% of those who consume meat, especially mutton, are from Hindu community. Therefore, it is a loss for both the communities. But we are at the receiving end.”

Mohd Irfan, a member of the Tansimul Quraish said he supplies kilos of chicken and mutton to the CRPF camp and Army headquarters and makes a good amount, but was disappointed after the government’s decision to ban meat in Ayodhya.

“We supply at least 40 kg of chicken to the CRPF’s mess every day and the Army office. Whenever there is a party in the Army base office, we also supply raw goats, but now everything will stop,” he rued.

Meat shop owners in the area said norms, such as automatic door closers, walls with tiles, black mirror to hide meat, refrigerated vans for transportation of meat, geyser installation and medical fitness certificate of vendors are tough to implement and entail a huge expense.

“It will cost around Rs 2 lakh to maintain the shop according to Food Security officials. Why would anyone spend such a huge amount in a rented shop? Besides, Rs 50 thousand will have to be paid separately for the license to run a frozen meat shop,” says Saddam who earns an average of Rs 1,000 a day.

“Sales are good only for four days a week, as most customers are Hindu and they don’t eat meat on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We would prefer to close our shop but will not sell frozen meat to our customers because we neither have enough money to maintain the shop nor will we sell jhatka meat,” he said.

The sudden move of the authorities to crack down on meat shops has not only put an end to their means of livelihood but has also left them staring at a bleak future.

The question meat sellers are asking is: If chopping chicken and mutton is not allowed, then what is the alternative for them?

Irfan said the decision had hit the livelihood of over 500 families. Last month, he filed a writ petition in Lucknow High Court, seeking stay on ban of meat selling in the city.

“We respect the sentiments of other faiths and are ready to cooperate with the administration, but banning meat 15 km from the radius of the temple does not make sense to us. Ban within five 6-7 km of the temple premises, but such as complete ban in the whole city will destroy hundreds of families who are solely dependent on this trade since several generations,” said Irfan, who runs a kiosk of chicken, mutton and fish in Gaddopur of Civil Lines.

Ahmad of Tanzimul Quraish, said the survival of not only meat sellers were at stake but also people directly or indirectly connected with the business.

“Any animal (chicken, mutton and fish) is brought by a trader and the shopkeeper then buys it from him. This is how both of their families are run and the labour that works at meat shops is also dependent on the business. Besides, the businessman who sells skin of animals also earns his living from it. Therefore, the threat to the livelihood is not just for one family because many families are involved in this business, from cutting meat to selling animal skin.

Talking about the frozen meat system, Ahmad said, “The meat is cut at one place in the factory and obviously the company will sell it at its own rate. In the frozen meat selling system, only one person will buy the skin and only one person will sell it, replacing hundreds of families that are involved in the trade now.”

Survival at Stake

On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh government declared there would be a complete ban on the sale of liquor and meat within the radius of Panch Kosi Parikrama area in Ayodhya and adjoining areas. The announcement was made after a meeting with Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust general secretary Champat Rai and UP Excise and Prohibition Minister Nitin Agarwal, during which discussions were held on ensuring prohibition on the sale of alcohol and meat in the vicinity of the upcoming Ram Temple.

Agarwal said that the ban was ordered by the Chief Minister and that it applies to the 84 Kosi Parikrama Marg, a sacred route that encircles Ayodhya. He said the officers concerned were directed to make plans for the ban, as well as for the engagement of people involved in such activities in some other trade.

There are about 500 establishments in the area where liquor is sold and served.

Nearly 15,000 workers employed as waiters, cooks and cleaners with these bars, restaurants and liquor shops will be rendered jobless once this decision comes into effect from next week.

Notably, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath indicated the ban on consumption of meat and alcohol in June, during his two-day review of the ongoing development projects, including the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The CM said “public sentiments” should be respected and consumption of meat and liquor should be prohibited in the religious city.

The demand to ban liquor in Ayodhya dates back to 2018 when the Yogi Adityanath government renamed Faizabad district as Ayodhya. Following this, seers and sadhus in the area demanded a ban on alcohol as well as meat to “preserve the sanctity of the place”.

(Courtesy: Newsclick.)

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Ayodhya: All Eyes Skyward at Grand Temple; Shopkeepers Left With Rubble Below

Abdul Alim Jafri

Ayodhya: Moving towards Ram Path Marg, the arterial road leading to the Ram Temple, one can see demolished old houses and shops on both sides of the road. Hidden behind the cutouts featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lord Ram, several shopkeepers and families say they have lost their daily earnings after their roadside shops and houses were demolished by the authorities because of the road widening project.

Amid preparation for the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, shops witnessed a beeline of devotees in huge unprecedented numbers, the shopkeepers said. However, a feeling of anxiety is visible on Neeraj’s face while he negotiates with a customer.

Neeraj Singh (27) sold a portrait of Lord Ram worth Rs 250 to the customer for Rs 155 because the customer had that much money.

“We have been selling pooja items for four generations here at Ram Path. Thirty feet of my house was demolished during land acquisition for the road widening project. A compensation of Rs 2.85 lakh only was given to us even though the circle rate has gone up by more than 10 times since the verdict for building a Ram temple was announced by the Supreme Court in 2019. We should have been given at least Rs 17 lakh at the current circle rate to be fair. Building the Ram Temple will only be beneficial for us shopkeepers if our business runs successfully,” Singh told NewsClick.

There are half-broken shops on the 13-km stretch of what is now called Ram Path—many run for generations by the same family. Shop owners have two complaints: firstly, the compensation given to them was far below the prevailing market rate and secondly, they worry about having to repay the loans they have taken from their relatives to extend the shops after demolition. While the compensation stands at six times the circle rate, after the Supreme Court of India’s verdict on the Ram Janmbhoomi Title suit in 2019, the market rate has gone up by more than 10 times the circle rate.

‘Govt Bulldozed Our Livelihoods, Hopes’

Over 1100 shops and houses have been demolished on the 13-km stretch on Ram Path. Ravi Chetrpal, who runs a bakery shop barely 70 meters from Hanuman Temple, has given up more than 90% of his shop for the project. “I had a 25-foot shop, of which 20 feet was demolished by the authorities. I received only Rs 1 lakh as compensation from the government. Unable to operate a shop within the remaining five feet, I paid Rs 10 lakh as pagadi (advance money) to extend my shop by 10 feet to the Hanuman Garhi Trust,” he claimed.

The Hanuman Garhi Trust owns most of the shops in the temple’s vicinity.

Ravi, a native of Ayodhya, was upset about how he would return the money he had borrowed from his relatives and friends.

“I have been given Rs 1 lakh compensation from the government and I had to pay Rs 10 lakh to expand the shop. What did we gain?” he questioned.

This isn’t just Ravi’s story; all the shopkeepers along Ram Path share a similar narrative, expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of fair compensation.

The narrow road leading to Hanuman Garhi, dotted by shops on both sides, is now around 14 metres wide. Shops have been half-demolished to pave the way for the 800-metre Bhakti Path. The sound of the ringing of temple bells and conch shells echoes in the air. However, its juxtaposition to the rubble and lacklustre faces of those who are dealing with the aftermath of the demolition is striking.

“It was everyone’s dream that Ram Temple should built, but at the cost of demolishing our houses? Even God himself would not want this. Where should we go with the broken houses and shattered dreams?” asked Divya, with her voice choking and tears rolling down her face.

Raghaw Saini, a utensils seller, said three of his four shops were demolished as the administration tried to widen the road leading to the temple and his sales have come down heavily because of losing these locations.

“We were paid Rs 20 lakh compensation for both the shops, but the Hanuman Garhi trust, which allocates lands, is now demanding Rs 22 lakh for allotting us a single shop in another location which we cannot afford. Most others cannot afford it as we are hand-to-mouth people,” Saini told NewsClick.

The serpentine lanes of Ayodhya today have been engulfed in the loud noise of machinery and earthmovers, symbolising the ongoing transformation of an ancient city into a sprawling modern pilgrimage center.

Mohan Provision Store, situated next to the Post Office Tiraha, is regarded as the largest ration shop in the city. Recently, it relocated away from the main market. Ajay Maheshwari, the current proprietor, said that this shop has been operated by his family for three generations, spanning approximately 80 years. The compensation received for the shop is significantly below its assessed value. Despite this, in an effort to preserve his ancestral business, he was compelled to open a shop on the street adjacent to the police station.

Trivedi Library, right in front of the Kotwali, was a famous shop for religious books in the city. Its owner Nand Kishore Trivedi says that the entire shop was gone in one stroke. Under compulsion, he is running his business in a rented shop in Rani Bazaar. He said that many people used to come to his shop from outside the town; now, it would not be possible to give the address of the new shop to everyone.

Mangal and Gayatri Medical Stores were located opposite each other near the Ayodhya Hanumangarhi intersection, both now operating their businesses from their homes. Deep Narayan Gupta, the proprietor of Mangal Medical Store, is currently grappling with depression following the demolition of his decade-old house. Gupta said he purchased the shop about 15 years ago in very difficult circumstances, and it has now been lost in a flash. Lacking the courage to buy another one, he is compelled to earn his living by opening a shop in his house on a street near Tedhi Bazaar.

“We are not against the construction of the temple, but we should have been given sufficient compensation so that our businesses don’t suffer. But who cares for the poor when the whole country is singularly focused on Ram? I hope Lord Ram gives wisdom to the government to understand the pain felt by poor people seeing their houses being demolished,” Sugriv, a local, told NewsClick.

NewsClick visited several shopkeepers, most of whom were originally situated on the front road near the temple premises. Following the demolition, these shops were relocated to narrow lanes, making it a challenging task for any customer to reach them.

However, the businessmen also hold hope for the Ram Mandir, anticipating that business will flourish rapidly once it opens for devotees.

(Courtesy: Newsclick.)

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When Death Came Knocking on a Family in Ayodhya

Ayush Tiwari

In June, a Google Street View car that captures 360 degree images of streets around the world drove through an old pilgrimage route that encircles Ayodhya. For the last time, its cameras captured a flower bed near the banks of the Saryu river. They show a row of budding plants yet to blossom, fenced by slender trees and dense, green shrubbery. In August, local authorities flattened the bed and acquired the land for a road-widening project, as part of Ayodhya’s makeover in the run up to the Ram Mandir inauguration in January 2024.

The flower bed had been nurtured by 65-year-old Ram Kishor for decades. When I interviewed him for a story in the first week of December, he seemed helpless and despondent. The plot of land had been a source of livelihood for his family and the families of his three brothers. Their children, barring one, did not have jobs.

We sat down to speak in the courtyard of Kishor’s modest, age-old home. From there, one could see four tall cranes building the Ram Mandir a few hundred metres away. After a brief chat about the land’s history, Kishor told me about his father, 93-year-old Sitaram Verma.

In the 1950s, Verma started his career as an assistant store keeper in the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation in nearby Faizabad. He was transferred to Allahabad in the early 1960s. “Every 15 days, he would visit us from Allahabad and bring gifts,” Kishor recalled. “My grandfather grew curious. He asked my father how much money he made. Father told him that the money he sent home every month was what he earned.”

Something did not add up. If Verma sent his earnings home, then how did he survive in Allahabad and afford the gifts, asked the grandfather. “My father revealed he made more money through bribes,” said Kishor. “My grandfather was livid. He told him that the family did not need money made through bribes and ordered him to return home.”

Verma was transferred back to Ayodhya in 1966, where he retired in 1995. “After the scolding, he never even had a cup of tea from someone else’s money,” said Kishor, proudly. “Someone less honest would have built a big house. But our little home is the story of my father’s honesty.”

As I absorbed the account, I blurted out a stupid question that I came to regret. “When did your father die?” I asked. “He’s still alive,” said Kishor. “But he’s bed-ridden in the next room.”

The theme of Kishor’s story was not just injustice but also betrayal. His account of his father’s life, woven into the conversation about the crude seizure of the flower bed, was meant to convey a larger truth: the family of a government servant who had served honestly and faithfully had been abandoned by the state.

As we spoke, a frail, old man walked out to the courtyard. He was held by Kishor’s wife and son on either side. With a blue sweater and black pair of pyjamas, Sitaram Verma took small, weak steps to the washroom.

The harsh afternoon sun in Ayodhya was soon lost amidst grey clouds. Anticipating rain, Kishor and I moved our chairs under a tin shed. Minutes later, a loud, shrill cry rang out from the room where Verma lay.

“Is your father okay?” I asked Kishore. He replied the old man had not been well. But consumed by the interview, he continued his story. But then came another cry. This time, Kishor rushed in.

Another minute passed. Deep down, I feared the worst. Those fears came true when the women in the family began wailing. Kishor walked out of the room. His eyes were moist. “He’s no more.”

As panic engulfed the Verma household, I stood around, confused. Kishor’s son made frantic phone calls and prepared to dash to the nearest hospital. Everyone seemed to forget about my presence. I left soon after.

I wanted to visit Kishor again. He was an important character in my report and I hadn’t photographed him. But I had second thoughts. His father’s demise shortly after I had (mistakenly) asked about his death had spooked me. What if, I thought, the family was superstitious and assumed that it was my question that had brought the bad omen.

Reluctantly, I walked to Kishor’s home on my last day in Ayodhya. The family was busy preparing for the funeral. The 65-year-old greeted me warmly and was willing to pose for a picture. He was angry, but not with me. He cursed the government and the local authorities, who, in his view, held the common folk in contempt.

“I have heard a rumour that the Ram Mandir trust will take over the land in this neighbourhood, including our house,” he said. “A rumour is only a rumour till the police force shows up. On one hand, I lost my land, then I lost my father. If we lose the house, where will we go?”

(Courtesy: Scroll.in.)