Opening of new temple in India blurs line between politics, religion: Expert

Dressed in a flowing golden-coloured traditional dress, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (Jan 22) personally unveiled the black stone idol to the deity Ram during the inauguration of a new temple in the northern town of Ayodhya. It is an unprecedented move for the head of a secular nation to take on the symbolism of a high priest of a religion, says Brown University’s Mahatma Gandhi Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies Prerna Singh. The temple's inauguration undermines one of the founding constitutional principles of India - that it is a secular country with equal rights for citizens of all religions - and also institutions such as the judiciary, whose judgment cleared the path for the building of this temple, she tells CNA's Asia First.

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