In New Jersey, the largest Hindu temple in the U.S. set to open amid controversy
“I wanted to do something that was a little bit bigger than myself,” said Patel, who graduated in 2020 from Rutgers with degrees in supply chain management and marketing.
The artisans who helped to build our mandir came to the U.S. as volunteers, not as employees. They temporarily left their jobs and families to perform seva alongside hundreds of other non-artisan volunteers from all across America and around the world.Those same allegations also figure in a federal investigation, which came to public attention after federal government officials, including from the FBI, Labor Department and Homeland Security,in 2021.
“What I can say is my time here as a volunteer, I felt nothing but love, support, empowerment, unity, and overall just a sense of peace and shanti here on this campus,” she said. “Of the approximately 3 million Hindus in North America, more than 35 percent reside in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania,” reads a passage in “If Stones Could Sing,” a book written by Trivedi about the evolution of the Akshardham. “Indian migration to New York City, North New Jersey, and Philadelphia eventually split into the quaint towns of Central and South Jersey. Today, nearly 30% of Robbinsville’s population is of Indian heritage.
Shivani Patel, recently departed from L’Oreal, found herself doing physical labor alongside other volunteers, many of them women. She said the work was empowering. However, others involved with the project said they were misled and severely mistreated after immigrating from India for the project.“The employer confiscated the employees’ passports,” said attorney Kakalec, who represents nine laborers who sued BAPS and several of the organization’s officials in 2021. “They weren't able to leave. There were guards, and their movement was monitored.”
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Largest Hindu temple outside India in the modern era opens in New JerseyAfter 12 years of planning and construction, the largest Hindu temple outside India in the modern era is ready to open to the public in Robbinsville, New Jersey.
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