JANUARY 22 was presaged, way back on November 9, 2019, when the Supreme Court cleared the way for the construction of the temple; and then on August 5, 2020, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the bhoomi pujan at the site in Ayodhya.

Yet, on Monday, with the nation watching, the consecration of the Ram Lalla in the new temple led by the Prime Minister marked not only a milestone in the history of the BJP-RSS but also a new chapter in national politics.

Its message was an unprecedented Hindutva surge amid statements of reconciliation from Sangh Parivar leaders who were once seen to occupy the “fringe” of mainstream Indian politics.

The date marked a state holiday in UP, and also a half day for Central government employees – the state came across as having the kind of intimacy with religious rituals that it rarely had since independence, but for that moment when the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, was present during the inauguration of the Somnath temple on May 11, 1951.

That the consecration was shown on all TV channels and livestreamed in cities and neighbourhoods across the country deepened its symbolism. Modi’s earlier call for a Diwali on the evening of January 22 also found many an echo across the country.

At the same time, there was dialing down of the rhetoric with Modi calling it a day not of vijay (victory) but of vinay (humility). RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat flagged the “hosh” (reason) amid the “josh” (passion) and the need to show restraint and work towards resolution of social disputes.

Even the Sangh’s political discourse in the run-up to the consecration was reconciliatory. BJP leader Uma Bharti, once seen as a rabble-rouser by critics, told The Indian Express that the peaceful atmosphere since the Supreme Court’s title suit verdict proved to the world, which had seen India in terms of religious and caste conflict, that Hindus and Muslims could live in peace.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wrote on Sunday, “The joint victory of justice and truth is erasing bitter memories and creating new stories, fostering harmony in society.”

In a piece written days ago, veteran BJP leader LK Advani, the architect of the mandir movement, said that when Modi consecrates the temple, he would represent 140 crore people of India – all of India across faiths.

In other words, there is a clear attempt within the Sangh to be seen as steering clear of triumphalism now that the temple is here. How this translates into the election campaign that may be just weeks away remains to be seen.

For the Opposition, January 22, 2024, frames a fresh political challenge given how since 1992, in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition, it has defined itself in opposition to the temple movement. In 1989, the BJP had said, in its Palampur resolution, that not the courts but a negotiated settlement or legislation could solve the issue, the Opposition parties had left the matter to the judiciary.

With the Supreme Court awarding the whole hitherto disputed land for a Ram temple in 2019, the opposition has been at a loss to decide what its position on the matter should be. From the Congress declining the invitation to attend the consecration to Samajwadi Party saying it would attend at a later date, from TMC’s inter-faith rally to AAP’s shobha yatras and community kitchens in the capital, each member of the Opposition is trying to figure its own way out.

Having invested over three decades in hardening the line over the temple issue – allies forced the Atal BJP to put it on the backburner — and at the same time not wanting to be seen as insensitive to “Hindu sentiments,” the Opposition parties are having to tease out strategies to strike a balance. That’s easier said than done especially in the run-up to the general elections.

The consecration of the temple has been accompanied by a sense of resignation within the Muslim community with most of its leaders saying they want to move on. As of now, the disputes around Mathura and the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi are making their way through the courts. How these are handled by the courts, the respective communities, the BJP and the Opposition, will have a bearing on what follows after January 22, 2024.