THE HISTORY OF THE RAM TEMPLE AND 21ST-CENTURY POLITICS: A SOCIO-POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE TEMPLE MOVEMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/14m0gk04Keywords:
Ram Temple, Hindutva, Religious Nationalism, Identity Politics, Indian Politics, Secularism, Electoral PolarizationAbstract
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the historical development of the Ram Temple movement and its far-reaching socio-political impact on 21st-century Indian politics. The primary objective of this study is to examine how a regional and religious issue transformed into a successful religious nationalist movement that fundamentally challenged the traditional definition of Indian secularism and reshaped the country's electoral landscape.
Methodologically, this research uses a Historical Institutional Approach, which involves a qualitative analysis of primary sources (judicial judgments, political manifestos) and secondary academic literature (works on identity politics and Hindutva).
The findings demonstrate that the temple movement was not merely a legal or religious dispute, but rather a powerful vehicle for the rise of cultural nationalism, catalyzing the polarization of political parties in the 1990s. In the 21st century, particularly after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict, the movement has cemented a lasting electoral foundation for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), further establishing religion-based identity politics within the Indian political mainstream. This paper argues that the resolution of the Ram Temple issue not only marks the end of a historical chapter but also signals the emergence of a neo-secular state, where majority religious identities have gained unprecedented legitimacy in political discourse.
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