At least nine Indian workers in Kuwait have reportedly been terminated from their jobs for celebrating the inauguration of the Ram Temple at the historic site of the demolished Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

The incident occurred following the consecration ceremony conducted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, January 22.

According to reports, the expatriates, employed by two different companies in Kuwait, expressed their joy by distributing sweets at their workplace on Tuesday, January 23.

The employers, citing a violation of workplace conduct, took a firm stance against the workers’ celebration.

The consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India was held on January 22, 2024, and was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The temple is located in Ayodhya and is currently under construction.

The consecration ceremony, also known as “Prana Pratishtha”, refers to the ritual by which the presiding idol of the temple is installed and “brought to life”.

The Ram Temple in Ayodhya had been a contentious issue for over a century, involving debates over the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama, the history of the Babri Masjid mosque at the site, and the destruction of the mosque in 1992.

The Allahabad High Court initially divided the land into three parts, but the Supreme Court’s November 2019 verdict ruled that the land belonged to the government based on tax records.

The court directed the construction of a Hindu temple by a trust and allocated an alternate two hectares of land for the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board to build a mosque.