consecration

In January, Indian Americans hosted a Times Square celebration for Modi’s consecration of a huge Hindu temple that had been built over the remains of an ancient mosque that was razed by mobs in 1992.

The consecration ceremony was both religious ritual and viral spectacle, with Mr. Modi cast in the role of ultimate victor, striding alone in the frame.

Ahead of the upcoming general election, Modi’s Hindu nationalist party is using the elaborate consecration ceremony to lobby the country’s Hindu majority.

Ram has a wide following in India; excitement around the temple’s consecration had been building for weeks, with saffron-colored pennants strung across a million streets and markets, and posters of Ram advertising the event everywhere.

Leading up to the temple’s consecration, public spaces around India were thrumming with excitement.