Located at a site called Abu Simbel in Nubia, Upper Egypt, the eponymous rock temples were created in 1244 BCE, under the orders of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1303-1213 BC)...
Ramesses II was fond of showcasing his achievements. It was this desire to brag about his victory that led to the planning and eventual construction of the temples (interestingly, historians say that the Battle of Qadesh actually ended in a draw based on the depicted story -- not quite the definitive victory Ramesses II was making it out to be).
There were two temples on the site. One of them, the Great Temple, was larger than the other. The Great Temple was also called “The Temple of Ramesses-Meryamun” (“Ramesses, beloved by Amun”). This temple was built to measure 98 ft (30 m) in height and 115 ft (35 m) in length.
According to experts, the Great Temple was built and positioned in such a way that on two days of the year -- February 22 and October 22 -- the rays of the sun would hit and illuminate the back wall of the second atrium, which would in turn envelop the statues of Ramesses II, Amun-Ra, and Ra-Horakhty in warm sunlight.
Interestingly (and appropriately enough), when this phenomenon happens, one statue that is also located at the back wall remains hidden from the sunlight: the statue of Ptah, the God of the Underworld. As the other statues bask in the sun’s rays, Ptah stays in the dark.
And here in India, well over three thousand years thereafter, we're being made to gape at the "engineering (and also ‘surreal’ too!) marvel" of a 75 mm diameter "Surya Tilak touching Ram Lalla's forehead" for a full four minutes "raising the divinity of the whole event". To be sure, it was telecast live by the state-run Doordarshan.
Other reports tell us that this "scientific marvel" of "the Surya Tilak"-- "an optomechanical system, a marvelous confluence of tradition and modern engineering" -- has been accomplished "by experts from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA)".
New India!
Ram Raj!
By the way, the CBRI had been established back in (prehistoric?) 1947.
And, the IIA in (again prehistoric?) 1971.
Not to forget, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, who led the manifesto committee, said (while releasing the manifesto on April 14th), “We have realized all Sankalp. There is no difference between what we say and what we do.” He was referring to the abrogation of Article 370, and the inauguration of the Ram Temple as a few examples of the Sankalp.
Never mind that the Model Code of Conduct provides, inter alia: "No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic."
The Ram Temple, let's also not lose sight of, has been built at the site of a sixteenth century mosque demolished by a mob in flagrant violation of the law of the land and a specific Supreme Court directive. The operation was also both the culmination and the triggering point of a bloody anti-Muslim campaign.
To be sure, the MCC further underlines: "There shall be no appeal to caste or communal (i.e. pertaining to any specific religious group's) feelings for securing votes."
By the way, India (still) boasts of an Election Commission overseeing the election process which, only too recently, in a routine exercise, had asked “parties and their leaders to refrain from seeking votes on the basis of caste, religion and language."
What a joke!
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