On the night of Monday, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir situated in Melville hamlet in the New York State of the United States was vandalised by extremists. Visuals have surfaced on social media where it could be seen that the sacred Hindu temple was violated with disturbing slogans. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha condemned the attack on the Hindu place of worship. It said, ‘We also offer our deepest prayers for those who committed this crime to be released of their hatred and to see our common humanity’.
‘The local authorities were called upon knowing of the hateful vandalism and BAPS is working with the authorities to support their investigation into this hate crime’, informed the temple authority. In New York, the Consulate General of India also issued a statement, condemning the targeting of the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir.
“The vandalism of the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Melville, New York, is unacceptable; The Consulate is in touch with the community and has raised the matter with U.S. law enforcement authorities for prompt action against the perpetrators of this heinous act,” read a tweet by the official ‘India in New York’ X handle. In a similar case in January 2024, the Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward city in California state of the United States was violated with pro-Khalistani slogans. The temple was spray-painted with negative slogans.
The temple administration said in a statement, “Jai Mata Di Bhakto’s. With deep regret, we would like to inform you (that) the Temple has been vandalized last week. We have informed the police and they have classified it as a hate crime. It added, “A few other Hindu Temple’s in the area have also been vandalized (most likely by the same culprits). We pray for those who wish harm and hatred on others that Mata Rani cleans their souls and gives them happiness and eradicates hate from their hearts”.
However, on 22nd December 2023, the Swaminarayan Mandir Vasana Sanstha in Newark city of California, was vandalised with pro-Khalistan, anti-Modi and anti-India slogans. The outer wall of the temple was defaced with negative slogans. Similar attacks have taken place in the United States and Canada, wherein Hindu temples have been attacked, vandalised and defaced with derogatory graffiti.
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