For his 2.2 million followers, Harshavardhan Patel's Instagram account 'Ayodhyawale' is their front row seat to keep track of activities around the under construction Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.
Starting 5 August 2020 -- the day when the foundation stone of the temple was laid -- Patel has documented the project each step of the way.
"The Ram Mandir bhumi pujan day was when this idea came to me. Ayodhya has many temples which people don't know about. I wanted to show people the real Ayodhya...and growing up, I always had a special connection with Ram. Hum aksar sunte the ki mandir banega. Ab jab mandir ban raha hai toh hum use duniya ko dikhana chahte hain (We would often hear that the temple will be constructed. Now that the moment has arrived, we want to document it for the world to see)," Patel, a college student pursuing Bachelor's degree in tourism, told The Quint.
Even though he claimed to document the "real Ayodhya", Patel said that his account will "never" touch upon anything related to the proposed mosque, construction of which is expected to start soon in Ayodhya's Dhannipur village.
"Humaara connection bhagwan Ram se hai, hum masjid ka kuch nahi dikhayenge. Followers kahenge tab bhi nahi. (Our connection is with Lord Ram. Our page will never feature anything related to the mosque, even if our followers demand)," he said, almost instantly when asked.
As per various estimates, Ayodhya has approximately 55-60 mosques, and six percent of its 78,000 people are Muslims (2011 census).
Influencers such as Patel, along with celebrities including film and television stars, and sports personalities, have played a huge role in promoting the Ram Temple consecration ceremony — scheduled for 22 January — on social media.
A 'Lesson in History' for Gen Z
Ayodhya finds mentions in ancient Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious texts. It was also a major political centre in the Mughal period, when it served as the capital of the Awadh province.
The consecration has brought back into focus the decades-old Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute — a title suit over the control of site where Ayodhya's Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished in December 1992. Some Hindus have long believed that the Babri Masjid was built in the 16th Century by Mughal General Mir Baqi over ruins of a temple — which they consider to be the birthplace of Lord Ram.
On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the 2.7 acres of disputed land to be handed over to a trust — to be created by the government of India — to build the Ram Janmabhoomi.
The court also ordered the government to give an alternative 5 acres of land in another place to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque as a replacement for the demolished Babri Masjid.
Amit Rao, a D-Pharma student, said that he wants to make the history of Ram Mandir, and the tenets of sanatan dharma accessible to a younger generation. "I want people to know about Ayodhya, Lord Ram, and the sanatan dharma — especially the youngsters who are unaware in a more engaging and lucid manner," he said.
On his Instagram page titled 'Paavanbhumi Ayodhya' which has 1.26 Lakh followers, he occasionally posts videos to that effect.
For instance, in a video shared on 13 December, Rao superimposed visuals of the Babri Masjid demolition with a voice over from 'Om Shanti Om' a popular Hindi feature film starring Shahrukh Khan. The voice over says, "Hindi filmo ki tarah, hamari zindagi mein bhi ant mein sab theek ho hi jaata hai. Aur agar theek na ho, toh woh ant nahi hai (Like our Hindi films, even in life everything falls in place by the end. And if that's not the case, it is not the end).
Patel, too, has images and videos describing the "500-year-long" wait for Lord Ram to return to Ayodhya.
For instance, on 27 November 2020, he shared images of a text titled 'Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Romanchak Itihaas' by author Ramgopal Pandey.
Though the text does not cite any sources, it described in great detail, how the Hindus reacted to Mir Baqi destroying the Ram Temple.
Interestingly, in its 2019 judgement based on a report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) among other things, the Supreme Court noted that the temple identified by the ASI dates back to the 12th century – about four centuries before the first Mughal emperor Babur came to India from Central Asia.
“No evidence is available to explain what transpired in the course of the intervening period of nearly four centuries,” the court noted in the judgement.
In another post, Patel urged his followers to celebrate 6 December 1992 -- the day of demolition of the Babri Masjid -- as Shaurya Diwas.
"Hindus and Muslims in Ayodhya have always lived in peace. There have been no major riots or altercations between the two communities. But history is history. We can't change that," Patel said.
Influencer Economy
Patel, Rao, and other social media influencers have tapped into a huge audience on social media by creating content around the temple.
"Before I came to Ayodhya, I used to make tech and auto videos. But when my video on deepotsav got good response, I realised that I should create more religious content," said Rao, a resident of Basti who relocated to Ayodhya in 2021.
It took Patel 1,203 days to reach one million subscribers on Instagram, and then just 61 days to touch the figure of 2.3 million.
"We're adding Lakhs of followers to our family everyday. It's mostly because of the buzz around the consecration. Like many other professions, our work is also seasonal in a way. We get more followers around important events such as deepotsav or like the one happening now," explained Patel, who also has over 70,000 subscribers on YouTube.
While most of these influencers haven't yet monetised their accounts, collaborations with small businesses in Ayodhya serve as a major source of revenue. "If somebody wants to collaborate with me right now, I will charge approximately Rs 2 Lakh per post," Patel told The Quint.
A collaboration post is an Instagram feature that allows creators to promote other creators on their page.
Rao added, "I don't make money through religious content. If somebody wants me share their posts related to religion, I will do that for free. However, to sustain my account, I do charge money from small businesses if they want a shoutout on my page. The amount varies depending on what their needs are."
The BJP Push
On 14 January, days before the consecration ceremony, 500 influencers embarked on a month-long 4,500-km yatra tracing the alleged route taken by Lord Ram to return to his kingdom in Ayodhya from Tamil Nadu's Rameshwaram after his exile.
The yatra — facilitated by the Ram Mahotsav Yatra Samiti formed by the All India Influencers Association — was promoted by several leaders associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In fact, the All India Influencer Association is an Indore-based organisation founded by Malay Dixit, Chief of BJP IT Department in Indore.
The Culture Department of the UP government reportedly engaged prominent influencers to create content around the Ram Temple. The state government also earmarked a budget of Rs 25 Lakh for the same.
Even though both Patel and Rao are among influencers regularly in touch with the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Khetra Trust, they claimed that they haven't received any funds from the government. "Even I heard about the budget but we haven't received any money," Patel said.
Rao, on the other hand, claimed that he wouldn't take any money to promote religious content. "I don't do this for money. I do it out of my devotion towards the sanatan dharma," he added.
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