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   Colourful lights and saffron flags adorned temples in several parts on India and chants of "Jai Shri Ram" rent the air as devotees thronged them to perform special puja on the occasion of ground-breaking ceremony for a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the ‘bhoomi pujan' of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Across the country, people remained glued to their television sets as Modi performed rituals at the Ram Janmabhoomi, the site of a bitter Hindu-Muslim conflict that lasted decades before being settled by the Supreme Court last year. Let us take a look at some of the images:

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   At a Chattarpur temple in Delhi devotees started arriving around 6 am, just after the morning puja ended. (Reuters Photo)

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   Ayodhya: Divya Darshans of Bhagwan Ramlalla Virajman from Ram Janmbhoomi complex. (PTI Photo)

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   Amritsar: Young women paint 'Jai Shri Ram' on their hands and faces, to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony of proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya. (PTI Photo)

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   Devotees performed puja amid non-stop Ram bhajan and kirtan in Mumbai. (AP Photo)

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   Washington: Indian community people take out a tableau on 'Ayodhya's Shri Ram Mandir' around the US Capitol Hill to celebrate the ground breaking occasion of the temple. (PTI Photo)

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   A woman distributes sweets during a live screening of the stone laying ceremony of the Ram Temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ayodhya, in New Delhi. (Reuters Photo)

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   Varanasi: Members of the Muslim community perform 'aarti' of Lord Ram as they celebrate the ground breaking ceremony of proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya, in Varanasi. (PTI Photo)

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   Saffron flags with pictures of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman were seen as the stone laying ceremony of the Ram Temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ayodhya going on. (Reuters Photo)

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    Activists of Jammu and Kashmir Dogra Front participate in a ceremony to mark the groundbreaking ceremony of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. (AP Photo)

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    Women dance to celebrate ahead of a groundbreaking ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya, at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad headquarters in New Delhi. (AP Photo)

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    Jammu: Shiv Sena activists dance as they celebrate Bhoomi Pujan day for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, in Jammu. (PTI Photo)

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    People watch a live screening of the stone laying ceremony of the Ram Temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ayodhya, in New Delhi. (Reuters Photo)

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    A man dressed as Lord Hanuman participates in a celebration by Vishwa Hindu Parishad to mark the groundbreaking ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya. (AP Photo)

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    Devotees perform religious rituals during a celebration by Vishwa Hindu Parishad to mark the groundbreaking ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya. (AP Photo)

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    New Delhi: An artist dressed as Lord Hanuman performs as members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad celebrate the Bhoomi Pujan of Ayodhya's Ram Mandir, at Hanuman Mandir, Connaught Palace in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

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    Vijayawada: Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad celebrate the ground breaking ceremony of proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya, during Unlock 3.0, in Vijayawada. (PTI Photo)