That there would be development here, was a given, apart from being the popular sentiment, distinctly upbeat, and swift on the heels of the Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya. It was time Ayodhya moved away from the hatred.
Varanasi’s locals had lived in peace together for years but had become pawns in the hands of political parties in India who saw profit in the hatred. One would imagine that the Supreme Court verdict directing the land to be given to a trust for the ultimate creation of Ram Mandir would be flayed and soundly by dissenting groups yet wasn’t. And, that came as a pleasant surprise.
With the exception of a handful of rabid clerics from both religions going public with their versions on the verdict, it were the common masses – Hindus and Muslims – of Ayodhya who behaved in the most mature manner and predictably so. Members of both communities had lived in harmony and unison for generations together.
That the creation of a Ram temple would solve all of Ayodhya’s problems was an emotionally-charged pitch as old as probably religion itself. It isn’t as if all was hunky-dory at the administrative headquarters of Faizabad District. There were simmering voices of discontent among a few Muslims within Ayodhya and beyond, across India too. But, they respected the Court’s verdict but hoped that this would put an end to the entire controversy and everyone moved on.
Among most, it was Ayodhya’s District Magistrate Anuj Jha who had a tall task ahead. After the successful handling of Ayodhya’s law and order after the Supreme Court verdict, Jha has been working around-the-clock to maintain peace, calm and harmony till the Babri Masjid Demolition anniversary that falls on December 6 th.
Ayodhya heralds the change
Even before the verdict, lakhs of devotees had visited the town for 14 Kosi Parikramas and five Kosi Parikramas and then, soon after, on 12 November on Karthik Purnima when five lakh devotees visited Ayodhya. This augured well for the scope of religious tourism in Ayodhya, in particular, and the zone in general.
A lot of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders both at the National as well as State levels had made statements that the verdict will clear the way for a Ram temple and, with it, Ayodhya’s all-round development. Locals were filled with hope that, religious sentiments apart, the Central government and the State government will ensure the holistic development of Ayodhya.
The judgement ordered the central government to draw up a scheme in three months for the temple’s construction and locals put aside their scepticism. They were hopeful that the State and the Centre are serious about the temple-town’s development.
It was India’s most awaited judgement. One that risked sparking riots and violence across India as tempers were guaranteed to run high. In the Supreme Court ruling, that nation watched with abated breaths expecting a simplistic reaction: One would celebrate a victory with a sense of vindication rather than relief while the other simmer with a rage that could spill over across India. And then, the unthinkable happened.
The Supreme Court delivered a gem of a verdict on 9 November amidst record security measures by the police in Ayodhya and political parties’ call for peace across India.
An airport and Lord Ram’s statue!
The Ayodhya verdict had flagged off two of Ayodhya’s largest projects – the Ayodhya airport and the Lord Ram statue. Taken up as priority by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, the state announced plans to acquire more than 285 acres for the airport which will also be named after Lord Ram believed to have been born in Ayodhya.
Also, moving ahead in the direction, the state released Rs 400 crore towards acquisition after which the existing airstrip would be re-developed to tackle larger aircraft.
The existing airstrip set to be 1.5 km long and 30 meters wide permits only small planes and will need to be 45 meters wide with a runway of 2.5 km to handle wide-bodied flights.
In February 2019, the state cabinet cleared the proposal of investing Rs 640 crore on the airport project even authorised the district magistrate to acquire land on a mutual agreement basis. The Uttar Pradesh Government is all set to catapult Ayodhya on the national and international tourism network while providing the much-needed boost to local economy.
While the Yogi government has initiated the process of acquiring land for the proposed 221 metres Lord Ram statue slated to be the world’s tallest and 38 metres taller than the current tallest ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the locals in Ayodhya exercise rare and mature restraint in their demeanour.
Incidentally, inspired by Sardal Patel’s statue in Gujarat, the Adityanath cabinet even cleared the proposal worth ₹ 447 crore for the acquisition of 61 hectares (150 acres) towards range of tourism projects that include a spectacular Lord Ram statue, a digital museum, an interpretation centre, a library, parking, a food plaza, and landscaping and other basic infrastructure facilities.
The Yogi Adityanath government had, immediately after coming to power, made its priorities crystal clear. The renaming of Faizabad district to Ayodhya and upgrading the local municipal council to Ayodhya Municipal Corporation apart, the much-awaited verdict on Ram Mandir was a given.
And now, a ₹ 126-crore project to redevelop and model model the Ayodhya railway station building along the lines of the under-construction Ram Mandir — down to the stone used for construction — is set to be completed anytime soon.
From two years back when the facade of the small railway station that now has a capacity of 4,000 people per day, in Ayodhya town had been designed to resemble a temple, with a painting of Lord Ram at his throne with Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman at the entrance, the structure is now dwarfed by a massive 10,000-square metre, two-storey station building nearing completion next to it. The construction started in November 2018 and the first phase is set to be finished soon. It heralds a huge fillip in the arena of religious tourism in India. And a tourism that was synonymous with development.
India’s diversity needs to be tapped
In modern India, religious tourism has the potential to register exponential growth. According to World Economic Forum, Travel and Tourism accounts for five per cent of India’s employment. The nation registers seven million international visitors to China’s 55 million and despite India having diverse resources be it cultural, or natural or intangible heritage or even sports events, it plays very significant role in socioeconomic development of the Nation.
India has, over the last decade, turned out to become one of the most favored destinations for religious tourism both foreign and domestic travelers. It is through tourism that the International traveler manages to understand the miscellany of India’s cultural ethos. In a surprising achievement, according to official estimates, the Indian tourism industry has outperformed the global tourism industry in terms of growth in the volume of foreign tourists as well as in terms of revenue.
Growing economy remains driving force
Intriguingly, the driving force behind the exponential growth in religious tourism in India is the enormous progress made by the Indian economy. However, where India’s infrastructure is concerned, there are areas that need to be developed. To boost the current growth of religious tourism, the India government must invest in providing better facilities such as transport, accommodation, conveyance, health and hygiene, security, etc.
India is widely known for a range of exotic religious places. Developing India has been synonymous with the growth of religious tourism.
It isn’t without surprise to find places such as Kedarnath, Mahakaleshwar, Jagannath Puri, Tirupati, Kashi Vishwanath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, etc., being among the most visited religious places in India. This, for obvious reasons, being above and beyond the Varanasi zone and associated places in Uttar Pradesh.
The most recent win for the second term for Yogi Adityanath will only go on to augment the prospects of tourism, religious tourism in particular, in Ayodhya, in and around Varanasi that stood 200 kms away – better known as the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency.