Ayodhya: Ram Rajya or Ramanomics

How has the Pran Pratishtha (consecration) of Ram Lalla’s idol in Ayodhya changed the fortunes of the city, the State and the country forever? Why were Sanatan Mandirs not mere temples but focused on the wholesome development of humans and humanity?

Is there any economic sense of why Islamic countries are promoting the establishment of Hindu temples in
their countries?
Bhagwan Ram Knows It All The verse mentioned in Ayodhya Kanda in Valmiki Ramayan is
सत्संग्रहप्रग्रहणे स्थानविन्निग्रहस्य च !
आयकर्मण्युपायज्ञ: संदृष्टव्ययकर्मवित् ||
Meaning:

Ram was skilled in receiving and encouraging the righteous and in punishing the wicked, the bad and the evil. He knew and could identify and protect pious men and reprimand the ones who were worthy of it.

He knew the right means, the right methodology, the right art of raising revenue and having sources of income for the State without oppressing people and also was adept at spending money for the welfare of the State as has been mentioned in the prescribed manner in Shashtras.

The Past
Ayodhya Ji and not Ayodhya, as was called since time immemorial, is the birthplace of Bharat’s ancestor Shri Ram, who was born as a human, having abilities of God and could alleviate pain and remove suffering from anyone’s mind, body or heart.

Once a beautiful, revered and worshipped city, it was brought down 500 years ago in 1528 AD when Babur came to Ayodhya just for a week and destroyed Ram Mandir and converted the half-destroyed Temple into Babur’s mosque by putting a tomb on it. Incidentally, the downfall of Ayodhya Ji coincided with the downturn of Sanatani society socially, economically and spiritually.

The evidence of this is in the early 16th century, when Bharat contributed 25.1 per cent of the total world GDP and with subsequent aggressions and finally with British colonisation, Bharat’s GDP contributing to the world GDP fell to a mere 1.2 per cent in 1947 when Bharat got its Independence.

Today, Bharat contributes only 3.88 per cent of the World’s GDP. With the destruction of the Ram Mandir, Bharat and Bharat’s prosperity also got destroyed. Fast forward to today, with the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla, the economy and economics both at Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh and Bharat have changed.

Bharat has emerged as the fifth largest economy superseding its coloniser Britain, and once a country seen as a begging bowl is now feeding 800 million people with free food and nutrition. It has emerged as the largest producer of food and foodgrains in the world. Furthermore, Uttar Pradesh, once called a BIMARU State, is topping the charts for all the right reasons.

• Uttar Pradesh has added the most number of new investors in 2023 superseding all other fast-growing States like Tamil Nadu or Maharashtra
• Uttar Pradesh in FY 23 emerged as the highest-ranked state in attracting investment funds from banks and financial institutions getting the lion’s share of 16.2 per cent of the total funds invested across States
• UP tops the list of states doing business through the Government e-marketplace portal in FY 23

With the construction of Ram Mandir, the city founded by King Manu, ancestor of Bhagwan Shri Ram, Ayodhya has been primed, placed and positioned as a Global City, now recognised as a spiritual tourism spot

Post-Bharat’s Independence, a small town, now is giving competition to Vatican City and Mecca. This is just the beginning when three lakh to five lakh pilgrims are visiting Ayodhya Ji daily and doing darshan and seeking blessings of their favourite Bhagwan Shri Ram.

• Since 2017, Ayodhya has received an investment of Rs 32,000 crore across 264 projects that include better infrastructure creation, roads, greenfield townships, an international airport, that initially will have a capacity of carrying ten lakh passengers and in the next couple of years the capacity to go upto 60 lakh, highways, international spiritual centre etc
• Beyond Ram Mandir, other temples of significance from Life of Bhagwan Shri Ram including Ram Kacheri Mandir, Akshari Mandir, Tulsi Chauraha Mandir, Bharat Kila Mandir, Hanuman Mandir and others have been renovated, decorated and embellished with an outlay of over Rs 70 crore as well so that visitors can get the entire perspective of Bhagwan Shri Ram’s life and his values and virtues during their visit to the city
• In 2017, just over 200,000 tourists visited Ayodhya, however in 2022, the number jumped to 20.3 million visitors (10x in 5 years) and in 2023, from Jan to Sept, crossed a whopping 21 million, that’s right (2.10 crore)
• Ayodhya has transfigured financially with an infusion of an unthinkable investment of Rs 75,000 crore by British conglomerate Trafalgar Square Capital. This mammoth investment will be used to develop and establish cutting-edge defence manufacturing units in Ayodhya Ji. This is the largest-ever investment in a single district in Bharat
• Germany’s Unicorn Energy is making significant investments in Uttar Pradesh, with two solar energy projects with an estimated value of Rs 42,000 crore. These will add to the jobs and economic prowess of the State and the country
• The Hinduja Group has pledged Rs 25,000 crore across various ventures including film, media, and solar energy sectors, including an earlier commitment of Ashok Leyland for it’s electric vehicle production
• The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has signed six MoUs, worth Rs 74,000 crore towards solar power and energy projects in various parts of Uttar Pradesh
• Ayodhaya Ji’s landscape is also changing with 30 large 5-star hotels arriving in the city and an ambitious plan is being laid down to have 400 Luxury and Super Luxury hotels present in Ayodhya to welcome national and international guests and dignitaries

Till now, of all the tourists visiting Uttar Pradesh, one out of 15 visit Ayodhya. In 2024, post the Pran Prashitha, every day, three to five lakh tourists are visiting Ayodhya per day and that number can jump to 6-7 lakh per day on special occasions like Ram Navami or Dusserra or Deepawali.

Even if one tourist spends Rs 5,000 on an average over, stay, food, travel, spiritual sightseeing, charities, donations, sewa, it is tantamount to Rs 150 crs of incremental earnings for the businesses in the State and translates into Rs 55,000 crore for the year.

By 2030, Ayodhya will attract over seven crore or 70 million tourists annually.

This has led to a huge surge in investors’ interest in Ayodhya and the nearby areas

• As per one of the studies done by a real estate brokerage house, of all the enquiries outside the NCR region in Bharat, 90 per cent came for the purchase of land and flats in Ayodhya making it one of the most favourable destinations for Property Investment

Ayodhya at present, has surpassed Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand, once used to be the favourite places for tourists to build their second house.

• Uttar Pradesh, the 4th largest State in land area terms and the most populous State in the country saw Ayodhya district amongst all its 75 districts as the top collector of revenue receipts for the State Government. Most of the revenue has come from the stamp duty collection on property transfer.
• In FY 17-18, the total number of real estate transactions that happened in Ayodhya was a mere 5962 and that jumped to a whopping 10479 (for the period 10 months of FY 23-24 between April and Nov 2023) ~ 2x in 6 years or more
• During the Global Investment Summit of Uttar Pradesh, roughly 102 Agreements of Intent worth about Rs 18,000 crore were signed for tourism in Ayodhya

As the demand for housing and tourism is increasing in Ayodhya manifold, the FMCG businesses including Parle, Britannia, Dabur, Coca Cola etc have geared up stocking up their supplies as well as looking to set up production units in and around Ayodhya. Bisleri International, the leading water brand, has already established its plant and the same will be operational in the forthcoming months.

In the next seven years, Ayodhya will get a massive makeover with an outlay of Rs 85,000 crore that will develop the core city of Ayodhya spanning 31.5 sqkms and another 133 sqkms of Master Planned city outside the core city. As development finds its way into Ayodhya, the spiritual soul of Ayodhya needs to be preserved and hence the State Government is taking initiatives to ensure the culture and Cleanliness of Ayodhya are not compromised through eight initiatives

• Aesthetic Ayodhya
• Clean Ayodhya
• Efficient Ayodhya
• Accessible Ayodhya
• Experiential Ayodhya
• Modern Ayodhya
• Cultural Ayodhya
• Healthy Ayodhya

 

• n Furthermore, as Ayodhya’s tourist activity is on the rise, the underlying manufacturing has also jumped manifold, with the rise in exports for Ayodhya between FY 23 and FY 22 being 130 per cent
  Ram Mandir has also promised and presented prosperity in the lives of the people of Ayodhya, with bank deposits in Ayodhya district doubling in five years from Rs 30,000 crore in 2017 to Rs 67,600 crore in 2021.
  With the advent of the Ram Mandir and Ram Lalla being consecrated in the Ram Mandir, Ayodhya will turn into gold exactly in the same way Mata Ahalya attained Moksha post-meeting Bhagwan Shri Ram.
  Many naysayers believe that instead of building a temple, a hospital should have been built. The
  reply is simple, “Hospital cures, Temple Heals, Hospital causes economic drain, Mandir brings economic prosperity, Hospital caters to physical ailment correction, Mandir corrects and rejuvenates the body, mind and soul.”

Temple Diplomacy

Bharat and UAE share a special bond, a bond that shows trust, that shows interdependence and that shows mutual respect. In 2015, the rulers of the Emirates gifted a parcel of land to Bharat on which a Hindu temple, 108 feet tall has been built, the largest in the Middle East and West Asia.

Bharat is energy-deficient and looks up to Abu Dhabi for its energy requirements and UAE is food-deficient and looks towards Bharat for food supplies. With a 30 per cent population in the UAE constituted by Bharatiyas, this temple brings both countries together celebrating diversity and harnessing shared values amongst themselves. Ayodhaya Ji and BAPS Temple Abu Dhabi have shown that Temples have the power to iron out creases in any conflict and build an ecosystem that will create prosperity all around the temple as well as for the ones living therein. n­­