In a shocking incident, the BAPS Swaminarayan temple in Sacramento, California was desecrated with anti Hindu graffiti on the night of September 25. Hateful slogans like “Hindu Go back”, “Modi and Jaishankar are terrorists” were plastered on the walls. The desecration comes at the back of the defacing of the BAPS temple in New York just a few days back, as hate crimes against Hindus in the US continues to rise.
The messages posted on the site are similar to the ones used before, targeting the Hindu community, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even the Foreign minister S Jaishankar.
In a response, the BAPS Public Affairs account posted on X, “Less than 10 days after the desecration of the BAPS Mandir in New York, our Mandir in the Sacramento, CA area was desecrated last night with anti-Hindu hate: “Hindus go back!” We stand united against hate with prayers for peace.”
The organisation also issued a statement to condemn the hate. It said they will pray for all including those “with hate in their heart”. The organization also informed that they are working closely with the law enforcement authorities.
“The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Sacramento is home to a vibrant Hindu community engaged in numerous activities and projects to support the larger community. We are and shall remain an integral part of this community’s fabric,” the statement added.
The temple community convened for a solemn prayer ceremony, and reaffirmed their call for peace and unity. The gathering aimed to honor the teachings of Mahant Swami Maharaj of harmony and mutual respect.
Reactions to the attack
The Hindu American foundation took special notice of the incident and informed that the Sacramento Sheriff office will be treating the acts as a hate crime. It also infromed that the California Regional Director Sangeetha Shankar visited the BAPS Hindu temple and met with the mandir’s, law enforcement and community elected leaders.
The foundation also met with the FBI to raise their concerns, “This is an important first step at the local level. This latest incident represented an escalation in attacks since a previous aggression that cut the water lines to the temple. We look forward to investigations continuing, similarities between the Melville, NY and Sacramento attacks being analyzed and justice being served.” they said.
Amerish Babulal also known as Ami Bera an American physician and politician who has been serving as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California also condemned the incident. Writing on X he posted, “There is no place for religious bigotry and hatred in #SacramentoCounty. I strongly condemn this apparent act of vandalism in our community. All of us must stand against intolerance and ensure that everyone in our community, regardless of faith, feels safe and respected.”
Rise of hate against Hindus in the West
Hindus have been coming under consistent attacks in the Western world and now especially in the USA. Hindus form only 1 per cent of the population of the USA. The community though small, is massively successful, accepting and friendly that has integrated especially well with the western society. Hindus are heaading some of the most successful businesses and companies in the country. From Google to microsoft, hindus are making a successful mark in the country. Yet the hate against Hindus seems to be rising unabated.
Western owned social media platforms are nowadays rife with anti-hindu messages. The posts largely go unchecked as hate crime against Hindus does not have the same backlash as anti semitism or Islamophobia. Temple desecration has become almost a daily news. The BAPS temples are not the only ones facing the wrath of hatemongers.
Racist groups attack Hanuman Temple
Only recently a Christian group stirred controversy by protesting a 90-foot statue of the Hindu deity Hanuman at the Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land, Texas. During the protest, which occurred only a week after the unveiling, church members disrupted the peace by involving temple visitors in theological debate and prayer aimed at undermining the Hindu idol, some of the protesters even shouted slogans like “May all the false gods burn to the ground.”
Despite pleas from the temple leaders for tolerance and peace, the harassment was so extreme that they were forced to weigh the necessity of hiring full-time security, and installing surveillance to assure the safety of the temple and devotees.
Response of USA
The response to the hate crimes from the authorities in the USA has been largely timid. Few leaders post condemnation messages on social media and the news is swept under the carpet. The USA that preaches tolerance and equality to the whole world fails to protect one of the most accepting minority communities.
Western mouthpieces and media largely ignore the rapid rising hate crimes against Hindus in the west, instead writing long sermons to India and other nations on how to treat minorities. The hypocrisy is so ingrained that it does not even come into their notice. The recent anti-hindu violence in Bangladesh is another example where the west hardly bothered with the plight of the Hindus and US President Biden was shown all smiles and arm in arm with Muhummad Yunus, who is silently allowing hate crimes against the Hindu minority in his own country. The protests against him quite clearly fell on deaf ears.
It remains to be seen whether these rising attacks against Hindus in the west will be noticed by the people in power. Or whether it will be just another day at the office, ignoring their own suffering minorities while issuing another fancy preaching statement against foreign nations.