For Kameshwar Chaupal, the man who laid the first shila (stone) for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a life-long mission is coming to fruition.  

On November 9, 1989, when he was asked to lay the first shila (stone) for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Kameshwar Chaupal said that he was as surprised as his friends.

"I was given the responsibility of taking care of guests, and suddenly received a message from Ashok Singhal (former president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad) that I needed to be there. There was no prior intimation, and I was thrilled to have my name etched in this glorious movement of a 500-year-long struggle," said Choupal in a telephonic conversation with DeccanHerald.

Remembering the days that led up to the moment, Chaupal said that in 1986, after years of struggles and several movements, including the Ram Jan Rath Yatra, the Jyoti Yatra etc, VHP had been agitating to have the locks of the temple opened.

He said that when the VHP announced the shilanyas in 1989, they had said that the first stone would be laid by someone from the Scheduled Caste, but it wasn't decided who would do it. "The people gathered then - the sants, and the people from the sangathan - decided it would be me. I had no idea prior to this," Choupal added.

Choupal later joined the BJP, and was elected in Bihar Council in 2002. He also contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Supaul. He's currently a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.

Choupal feels "elated" to have the temple inaugurated in his lifetime.