Invitations for the ceremony have been extended by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra to nearly 8,000 dignitaries including industrialists Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata. 

New Delhi: Ahead of the grand inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on January 22, 2024, the process of distributing invitation letters to people for the consecration ceremony of ‘Ram Lalla’ is currently underway. The letters will be sent to nearly 6,000 people to attend the ‘Pran Pratistha‘ (consecration ceremony) in Ayodhya.

Invitations for the ceremony have been extended by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra to nearly 8,000 dignitaries including industrialists Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata. Actors Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, besides cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli are also among the invitees.

Saints, priests, Shankaracharyas, religious leaders, and esteemed individuals, including former civil servants, retired Army officers, lawyers, scientists, poets, musicians, as well as Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan recipients, have received invitations via mail and WhatsApp, said a report in The Print.

A saint told news agency PTI that he had received the very first letter sent by the Trust. He added that he got the letter via post and is overjoyed to be the first person with the invitation letter.

According to The Print, Invites have also been sent to journalists who supported them in making “the Ram temple a reality”. Among those likely to feature in the list of invitees are Sudhir Choudhary, Rajat Sharma, Arnab Goswami, Shweta Singh, Dainik Bhaskar MD Sudhir Agarwal, Jagran Prakashan CEO Sanjay Gupta and non-executive chairman Mahendra Mohan Gupta, besides India Today editor-in-chief Aroon Purie.

Invitations are being sent out through traditional mail, and PDF versions of the invites are also being shared via WhatsApp with the recipients. Furthermore, the Trust will provide a link on the guests’ mobile phones, enabling them to generate an entry pass for the venue. It is a requirement set by the Trust that all attendees must carry their Aadhar cards.

Pran Pratishtha ceremony

The three-hour program will commence at around 11 am and conclude at 2 pm, with others allowed to leave only after the prime minister departs the venue. For security reasons, attendees are advised not to bring cell phones to the venue, said trust officials.

Ram Lalla will be enthroned in the sanctum-sanctorum of Ram Mandir on a golden throne on January 22. After the PM leaves, guests will be allowed to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla, and the temple will open for devotees the following day.