Varanasi: Domraja Anil Chaudhary is among the 14 people selected as the main ‘yajmans (ritual patron))’ for the Ram temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony rituals.
Domraja is a perennial symbol of commitment from the times of Raja Harishchandra and keeper of the sacred flame displayed in pyres on Manikarnika ghat of Varanasi.
Mahadev Gaikwad, who lends a face to over 60 million members of the Ghumantu community across 315 nomadic and 198 denotified tribes of India, is another yajman selected for the rituals.
Dilip Valmiki, a member of the Valmiki Samaj listed as Scheduled Caste in India, who is proud of his perennial association with Lord Rama and the story of Ramayana which was written by Maharishi Valmiki.
Their names have been announced by the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Pran Pratistha Samaroh Samvad Kendra.
“The yajmans would be participating in the Ram temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony rituals along with their wives,” an official spokesperson said, adding that the trust tried to ensure that those selected spoke for various castes, communities and regions of India.
The states of Rajasthan, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana have got representation in the list, besides Uttar Pradesh.
For instance, Ramchandra Khuradi of Banwasi Kalyan Ashram, Udaipur and Gurucharan Singh Gill of Jaipur represent Rajasthan, while Ram Kui Jemi will be travelling all the way from Assam.
Mahadev Gaikwad of Latur and Vitthal Rao Kamble of Mumbai are coming from Maharashtra, Kavindra Pratap Singh would be representing Haryana.
Karnataka would be represented by Lingraj Bassavappa of Kalaburagi (formerly known as Gulbarga).
