.BY ONE matter there are actually almost 700,000 Hindu holy places in India. But for many devotees it was actually the one that performed certainly not exist-- a building to denote the plausible place of origin of Ram, a Hindu god-- that mattered one of the most. On January 22nd their yearning will relate to an end when Narendra Modi, the prime minister, anoints the Ram mandir, a huge temple in the north city of Ayodhya. Some 8,000 individuals will join the event, consisting of scores of authorities coming from Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Gathering (BJP) and dignitaries from 55 nations. Why is the holy place therefore essential?