Meet The Sculptors Working to Build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya

Construction for Ram mandir is underway in Ayodhya, despite the fact that the case is still pending before SC.

Sculptors carving a stone in a workshop in Ayodhya.

(Photo: The Quint)

Construction for the Ram mandir is on in full swing in Ayodhya, despite the fact that the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid case is still pending before the Supreme Court.

In 2010, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court ruled that the disputed 2.77 acres area at the Ram mandir-Babri masjid site in Ayodhya be split three ways between the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Lord Ram Lalla. But a workshop in Ayodhya has been buzzing with workers sculpting stones for the temple for a while now.

VHP leader Ashok Singhal, the leader of the Ram mandir movement since the early 1980s, set up the workshop in the Karsevakpuram area of Ayodhya in 1990.

The sculptors, who hail from around the country, told The Quint that they felt fortunate to be a part of the construction of the temple.

Hriday Ram – who hails from Basti, Uttar Pradesh – claims that he has been sculpting stones for the temple for past 23 years.

Ram temple should be built as soon as possible. Otherwise, our efforts will go in vain. The money spent on the construction will also be wasted.

Hriday Ram, Sculptor

A Gujarat based sculptor, Rajinikanth, has a similar opinion. The stone-carving expert, who comes from a line of sculptors says:

The sculptors believe that the issue is related to faith and hence there should be no politics over it.

Over time, this workshop has also turned into a tourist attraction. Tourists and devotees both visit the workshop to take a look at the carved stones. A Ramlila is staged here every evening.

Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam

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