In India, the third week of January has at all times been a time for nationalist pageantry. It options two nationwide holidays: the birthday of the Bengali revolutionary Subhash Chandra Bose, and the anniversary of the adoption of India’s liberal structure in 1950. On the latter, Republic Day, parades throughout the nation showcase not simply tanks, missiles, bagpipes, and flags, but in addition people dances and cultural achievements — all of the issues that contribute to this nation’s famously vigorous public life.

This yr, nonetheless, all this republican custom will likely be overshadowed by a ceremony each older and newer: Monday’s inauguration, or maybe re-consecration, of a temple to the Hindu god-king Ram in Ayodhya.