In January 2024, Narendra Modi travelled to the northern Indian town of Ayodhya to attend the consecration of a Hindu temple with a very contested history. The site had previously been occupied by a 500-year-old mosque, and had become a focal point of broader disputes between India's Hindu and Muslim communities.

That fight over one hill in Ayodhya resulted in a demolition, mass protests and deadly retaliations across India. It also gave Modi a cause he could champion throughout his rapid political rise.