(Daily Point) — The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly criticized the construction and inauguration of the ‘Ram Mandir’ on the historic site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India.

During a lavish event attended by around seven thousand guests, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated the idol of Lord Ram at the newly erected temple, replacing the centuries-old Babri Masjid that was demolished by a Hindutva mob in 1992, leading to widespread religious riots in India.

The demolition, a pivotal moment in Indian history, resulted in the deaths of 2,000 people, predominantly Muslims, and had a profound impact on the nation’s officially secular political order. However, for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Ram Mandir’s opening marked a significant achievement in their long-standing campaign to align governance with the country’s majority Hindu faith.

Pakistan condemned the grand celebrations, denouncing the temple’s inauguration as a “symbol of growing majoritarianism” and an affront to India’s Muslim community. The Foreign Office (FO) expressed concern over the trajectory of majoritarianism in India, describing the new temple as a “blot on the face of India’s democracy.” The FO also raised alarms about the potential threats faced by other mosques in the country, including the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Eidgah Mosque in Mathura.

The OIC, a coalition of 57 Muslim-majority nations, expressed “grave worry” over the construction and inauguration of the temple on the Babri Masjid’s site. The inauguration faced criticism within India as well, with opposition parties condemning the event’s grandiosity and accusing the government of a “state-sponsored assault” on the pan-India peace march led by Congress’ Rahul Gandhi in the BJP-ruled Assam state.