The historic Babri Masjid stood for hundreds of years until 1992 when a Hindu nationalist mob destroyed it
By Imran Mulla
The actress Priyanka Chopra and her husband, the singer Nick Jonas, have come under heavy criticism for visiting a controversial temple in India built on the ruins of a demolished 16th-century mosque.
In January, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the Ram Temple, where the Babri Mosque once stood, in a highly publicised ceremony. The construction of the temple, which has not been fully completed, was one of Modi’s major policies, and a rallying point for the country’s Hindu nationalists.
On Wednesday, Chopra, one of India’s highest-paid actresses and a star in multiple American films and television shows, posted a series of photos on Instagram showing her and Jonas in the temple with their two-year-old daughter Malti Marie.
Chopra and Jonas visited the temple at a time of rising religious tensions, as India heads towards a general election.
After Chopra’s post, many took to social media to express their surprise at seeing Jonas at the temple.
One X user accused Jonas of carrying out “Hindu nationalism PR for the temple that is a crowning achievement of the party that passed a law excluding Muslim immigrants”. Another accused him of endorsing “a violently casteist, anti-Muslim hindutva ideology” with his visit.
By contrast, the event has received widespread positive coverage in Indian media.
Chopra is known to be close to Modi, and invited him to her 2018 wedding in Delhi.
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This story was originally published in middleeasteye.net. Read the full story here.