Wearing traditional dresses, holding saffron flags and dancing in celebration, the Indian diaspora members observed the much-anticipated pran pratishtha or consecration ceremony at the iconic Times Square in New York on Sunday.

Pictures of Lord Ram were displayed on the screens at Times Square.

Mega event in Ayodhya today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the much-awaited consecration or pran pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple in the north Indian city of Ayodhya on Monday, a mega religious event which is seen by many as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's attempt to launch its campaign ahead of the national polls.

From celebrities to politicians and seers, Ayodhya is currently overwhelmed by people from far and wide places who hope to witness a watershed religious event that will mark the course of the nation in the coming months. Many of them arrived in private jets for the ceremony.

Temple site was an issue of bitter contest between Hindus, Muslims

The temple site remained an issue of bitter contest between Hindus and Muslims with both the religious factions laying claim to it for nearly seven decades.

It also witnessed violence in 1992 when a mob destroyed a 16th-century mosque which stood at the site, which was built over a Hindu temple according to the court's final verdict.

A majority of Hindus claimed that the site was the birthplace of Lord Ram before Muslim Mughals razed a temple at the spot to build the Babri Masjid.

In a landmark verdict in 2019, the Supreme Court handed over the land to the Hindu community and ordered to allot a separate plot to Muslims.