The highly publicised inauguration of the Ram Mandir, or Ram temple, in Ayodhya, Northern India, took place on 22 January 2024 – just four days ahead of India’s 75th Republic Day on 26 January – at the site of the demolition of the Babri Masjid mosque in 1992. The inauguration featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a central role, performing religious rituals alongside priests and the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an openly fascist organisation modelled on Mussolini’s blackshirts and closely aligned with Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). There are several disturbin…