Advocate urges President to declare Jan 22 holiday on occasion of 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 17 : As the countdown to the grand 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram Temple has begun, an advocate, Ghanshyam Upadhyay, wrote a letter to the President, Prime Minister and Union Home Minister to declare a national holiday on January 22.
The 'Pran Pratishtha' of Shri Ram Lalla will be held on January 22.
Advocate Upadhyay, in his letter, said that Lord Shri Ram lives in the breath and veins of every Indian across the globe in general and Hindus in particular; therefore, to respect the sentiments of the people of the country, it is desirable to declare January 22 a national holiday.
"No personality like Lord Shri Ram has ever been born on this planet in any civilization in the world and Lord Shri Ram is an integral part of national pride and Indian civilization. It is well known that Lord Shri Ram lives in the breath and veins of every Indian across the globe in general and Hindus in particular. It is a well-known fact that Lord Shri Ram is worshipped more than any other incarnation of Lord Vishnu or any other god or goddess. People of the country are awaiting very eagerly to celebrate January 22, 2024, as a national festival and therefore, to respect the sentiment of the people of the country and more particularly, the Hindus, it is desirable that January 22, 2024, be declared a national holiday like other Hindu festivals," the letter read.
"Lord Shri Ram is undisputedly indispensable not only to Indian civilization but to humanity as a whole. The establishment of Shri Ram temple at Ramjanma Bhoomi after a great struggle of more than five hundred years and sacrifice of the lives of lacs of people is in itself not to be considered less than any other national festivals like 15th August and 26th January and thus, the occasion of 'Pran Pratishthan' of 'Shri Ramlala' on January 22, 2024 is a matter of national pride and national celebration and therefore, there is an urgent need to declare January 22 as national holiday," it added.
Meanwhile, as the 'Pran Pratishtha' day approaches, several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, have declared a holiday for all schools and offices on January 22.
States including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have decided to observe a 'dry day' on the occasion of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony.
Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya began on Tuesday, a week before the main ceremony. The general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai, said that Ram temple will be open for 'darshan' for the general public from January 23.
"The 'Pran Prathishtha' is expected to conclude by 1 p.m. PM Modi and others present on the occasion will express their thoughts after the ceremony. As per tradition, gifts in 1,000 baskets have come from Nepal's Janakpur and areas of Mithila. On January 20 and 21, Darshan will remain closed to the public," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started an 11-day special ritual in the run-up to the Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ramlala at the temple at Ayodhya.