The Ram temple, built on the site of a destroyed mosque, could be used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party to mobilise his Hindu nationalist supporters ahead of the elections.
A scholar on South Asian affairs traces the growth of Hindu nationalism, started by an atheist anti-colonial revolutionary, to the one adopted under Modi’s government.
India’s Supreme Court has allowed a Hindu temple to be built on the disputed site of a 16th-century mosque. The verdict could have long-term ramifications for India’s tradition of religious diversity.