Ayodhya Ram Temple: The upcoming 'Pran Prathishtha' ceremony for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is going to be a historic and one of the most important day in India's history. January 22 will be the day when the highly-awaited ceremony will be performed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Several states and central governments have already declared it a public holiday or a half day while some private entities have also followed suit. Citizens of India are awaiting the 'Pran Prathishtha' ceremony for the Ram Temple with much excitement.

Devotees from all over the world are in anticipation of the grand day at the birth place of Lord Ram. The temple trust organisers have invited almost 8000 guests including several celebrities for the ceremony. In the world of sports,  cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar, chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, sprint queen PT Usha and footballer Bhaichung Bhutia are among the prominent sports personalities invited for the consecration of the Ram Temple on January 22.

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The 500+ state guest list, accessed by PTI, features a mix of politicians, actors, sports stars and industrialists who have been invited for the event on Monday.

Besides Tendulkar, World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, ‘little master’ Sunil Gavaskar as well as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Virendra Sehwag and Indian cricket coach Rahul Dravid are on the list too.

From the current Indian cricket team, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma have been invited.

Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, footballer Kalyan Chaube, long-distance runner Kavita Raut Tungar and paralympic javelin thrower Devendra Jhanjadia have received an invitation as have women cricket captain Mitali Raj, shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu and her trainer Pullela Gopichand.

It is not clear how many of them will actually attend the opening of the 161-feet-tall pink sandstone shrine.

(with PTI inputs)