Uma Bharti, Sadhvi Rithambara Get Emotional

Gen Z may not know who these ladies are, but Uma Bharti and Sadhvi Rithambara played important roles in the Ram Mandir movement for the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allied organisations in the early 1990s.

Uma Bharti -- who was alleged to have exhorted the kar sevaks on December 6, 1992 to 'ek dhakka aur do', later became Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Union minister -- and Sadhvi Ritambhara -- who was the founder-president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Durga Vahini and delivered fiery speeches on behalf of the Sangh Parivar -- were charged by the CBI in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

They were acquitted by a special court on September 30, 2020.

IMAGE: Uma Bharti, 64, and Sadhvi Rithambara, 60, pose for a picture ahead of the pran pratishtha ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday, January 22, 2024. All photographs: ANI Photo

IMAGE: Uma Bharti and Sadhvi Rithambara embrace each other ahead of the ceremony.

IMAGE: Sadhvi Rithambara along with other religious figures at the gathering at the Ram temple.

IMAGE: A sadhu blows the shankh (conch shell) during the ceremony.

IMAGE: The sadhus gather at the temple, here and below.

The Ram Temple

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com