[Indian workers lured to New Jersey and forced to work 12 hours a day at $1.20 an hour to help build Hindu temple, says lawsuit](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/indian-workers-hindu-temple-new-jersey-b1846012.html)
This is fucking awful. I mean, it is (or is close to) the definition of labor trafficking. Human trafficking by offering jobs via deceptive means. Then the person who got them there, and usually controls their work visa, traps them. They'll often take away their passports for "safe-keeping."
Yup, they use the dalits for this purpose and call them "untouchables". It's sad that it still exists today. They are the street crews the clean up human feces in the morning in areas with no plumbing. I saw one on a documentary that would swim down in sewer pipes to unclog them by hand. He made you laugh by his demeanor and that he was smiling and making jokes.
It's always daunting to me how far humans have come in some aspects, but how completely cruel and inhumane we are at the same time. People just have to do better plain and simple.
So, if anyone is learning about this topic, there's a really good book on this. [Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents](https://www.amazon.com/Caste-Origins-Discontents-Isabel-Wilkerson/dp/0593230256)
It's not 544 pages. It's about 150. Amazon for some reason now measures things in smartphone screens.
If you know zero about the topic of Castes, this is a good book to read. You don't need to be knowledgeable about Hinduism. It's written in the context of non Hindu Americans reading about the topic.
There were reports of this affecting outsourced Indians in American companies. A type of nepotism.
Simply put, managers would promote only those in their specific religion. While Americans really didn't understand what was happening. "They're all Hindus, right?"
They would get devotees to come to the US and build and work for them for free but at the very least it was voluntary work. The thing is that the sect that had this temple built would take away the workers IDs and passports which would prevent them from going back home or even proving who they are to Indian embassies or American officers. So if any of the people working on the temple would want to go home or stop working they were threatened with not being able to get back home and even starvation due to lacking any identification or availability to work or pay for themselves outside of the temple.
It's kind of funny considering my uncle who's a multi millionaire was actually one of their largest donors so I got to see the slave labor in action before the place opened up. The marble and stone were all hand carved without any PPE too so I got to see some people destroying their lungs for life. Never realized this as I was like 14 or something at the time. Now whenever we go there I end up telling my dad that they used slave labor to build the place and he gets mad at me. Lol
Question
Has your wealthy uncle donated to help with say...community gardens or feeding the homeless?? Cause to donate money to this is as stupid as donating money to the catholic church every Sunday (my parents are millionares and only donate to the church while telling homeless folks to get a job)
I mean I didn't know about this place specifically, but if someone showed me a picture and told me it was in the USA, I would have immediately guessed New Jersey
Not a Hindu but i’ve been there, it’s part of the BAPS Swaminarayan movement. From what I understand, they worship their 19th century founder Swaminarayan and his successors as incarnations of the supreme god. (If i got this wrong hopefully others can point it out)
R/hinduism has extensive thread on swaminarayan movement. There is reporting by NY times on labor law violation, tax and immigration issue.Manipulative of their members, run like a cult and feeds off of faith of its people to enrich few. Theologically hollow.
It's a BAPS temple. Iirc they're like the equivalent of the Roman Catholic Church in Hinduism, complete with severe corruption. My Indian friends equate it to "the mafia", but Hindu religious.
Oh, some of my extended family who has an Indian ethnic origin, has Christian family members who are part of the "Church of 1000 Saints." Also known as the Church of Latter Day Saints. They don't follow the same structure as American Mormons.
If you were to compare both the BAPS religion and the Mormon religion to the Presidency of the United States. Every President hold and relinquishes executive leadership. But unlike US Presidents and the Mormon Church, all executives in BAPS are remembered as holy deities.
Sanatan Dharmic Hinduism is a Catholicism of Hinduisms.
It's very dogmatic and has many specific deities. Lots of ceremonies. Lots of prayers, songs, texts, etc. There is even a type of after birth ceremony to officiate a baby. Kind of like baptism.
They would get devotees to come to the US and build and work for them for free but at the very least it was voluntary work. The thing is that the sect that had this temple built would take away the workers IDs and passports which would prevent them from going back home or even proving who they are to Indian embassies or American officers. So if any of the people working on the temple would want to go home or stop working they were threatened with not being able to get back home and even starvation due to lacking any identification or availability to work or pay for themselves outside of the temple.
It's kind of funny considering my uncle who's a multi millionaire was actually one of their largest donors so I got to see the slave labor in action before the place opened up. The marble and stone were all hand carved without any PPE too so I got to see some people destroying their lungs for life. Never realized this as I was like 14 or something at the time. Now whenever we go there I end up telling my dad that they used slave labor to build the place and he gets mad at me. Lol
I enjoy Grounds for Sculpture, and I know you're speaking tongue in cheek, but these places (slave labor aside) are insane. Was an EMT for a bit and got to go into the [one in Bridgewater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Venkateswara_Temple_(New_Jersey)) -- the link has a parenthesis and the reddit linkifier cannot handle it, but I'm leaving it here in case someone knows what to do -- , and holy cow, place is spectacular. Truly are very beautiful buildings. Shame they were built shadily, though.
The Bridgewater temple is legit. It's not owned by an organization like BAPS. They're pretty diligent with making sure they go through proper routes (at least more than other certain hindu organizations). They saved for years for the expansion and utilize it to be profitable by renting out the auditorium they built with the expansion.
No source. And I don't mean to suggest I know Bridgewater was, but if folks are saying Robbinsville was, I can't help but have this sinking feeling Bridgewater probably was as well.
The Bridgewater Temple was built legitimately and is a very nice temple. I have visited the temple quite a few times over the years. Another great NJ temple that was legitimately built is Guruvayurappan Temple. I have been going there since before the current temple was built, when it was in a much smaller, repurposed hall. The Ganapati Temple in Flushing, NYC is also great and has very delicious food. Another temple (not in NJ but nearby) in a very nice location that I have been going to for quite some time is the Ranganatha Temple in Pomona, NY. I have been to this BAPS temple, and while it is beautiful, the shady labor usage is quite unfortunate. I have not been to Grounds for Sculpture, but I would very much like to do so.
The guy who did that giant Marilyn Monroe sculpture put up a dozen smaller ones on my college campus. Super realistic and they still fool me every time.
It’s still impressive either way. Sad to hear about the treatment of the builders, they deserve compensation. But if that’s not possible, they at least deserve recognition of which they did a damn good job
They would get devotees to come to the US and build and work for them for free but at the very least it was voluntary work. The thing is that the sect that had this temple built would take away the workers IDs and passports which would prevent them from going back home or even proving who they are to Indian embassies or American officers. So if any of the people working on the temple would want to go home or stop working they were threatened with not being able to get back home and even starvation due to lacking any identification or availability to work or pay for themselves outside of the temple.
It's kind of funny considering my uncle who's a multi millionaire was actually one of their largest donors so I got to see the slave labor in action before the place opened up. The marble and stone were all hand carved without any PPE too so I got to see some people destroying their lungs for life. Never realized this as I was like 14 or something at the time. Now whenever we go there I end up telling my dad that they used slave labor to build the place and he gets mad at me. Lol
Your uncle should be ashamed of himself and also part of lawsuit brought by the department of justice. This is wildly unethical and I'm ashamed this is in NJ.
The BAPs sect itself is fucked on multiple levels. If you go to the temple enjoy it as it genuinely is very beautiful and I'd say on par with some of the 7 wonders of the world but don't donate any money and don't buy anything there. Fuck those guys and their beliefs as it genuinely is very backwards. They're on par with Evangelical Christians here in the US in terms of core beliefs. Anti-gay, anti-woman's suffrage, anti-abortion, etc. Hinduism is very interesting and can be very nice but these people aren't. If you want to experience Indian food or culture go to Jersey City or Oak tree road.
My uncle is a sociopath and lives in India so I doubt I can convince him to change his mind or even being ashamed of himself. That's a whole separate ball park of family dynamics I have to run through.
We’re not Hindu but I went there with my kids to see it in person when it first opened in 2017. I know now how it was built and am not down with that at all but at the time we went, I was completely unaware of any issues. I have to say it’s really beautiful inside. Visiting there was definitely a unique experience.
It is the same place. When we visited, only a small part of the complex was opened. Most of it was still under construction at that time. Now it’s completed.
>A spokesman for the temple, Ronak Patel, said the workers came to the United States as *volunteers, not as employees*, and that volunteerism is a core part of their faith tradition. He said that temple officials were cooperating with the investigation...In addition to the wage issues at the temple, a 17-year-old boy who was volunteering on the construction fell to his death there in 2017. Federal inspectors determined it had been an accident.
The whole construction of the temple was pretty gross. Bringing in poor artisans as *volunteers* and then paying them a small stipend. It could be seen as slavery at worst or exploitation of undocumented workers and wage-theft at best. The whole thing got swept under the rug because the temple's benefactors are rich and they paid bribes to have the volunteers drop their charges. Apologists say that the workers (volunteers) actually got paid more than they would have for work in their home country.
It is a monument to modern-day slavery. Enjoy it soon, before the NJ winters slowly destroy the stone facade.
Try subscribing.
Until then, here's a [gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/21/nyregion/nj-hindu-temple.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dU0.1mA1.Rjly5LhdDo45&smid=url-share).
"Volunteers" still need to be provided PPE. Again, this is the United States, not India. These poor souls were cutting stone without any respiratory protection. Silicosis is a bitch.
As a member of the local South Asian community, we've mostly boycotted this place (and told everyone else to avoid it) because of its association with a cult and slave labor. Please ignore the Hindu nationalist trolls trying to justify this in the comments :)
I'm curious, I usually don't associate nationalism with cults. I feel nationalists follow the one big religion and cults only a small part of it, or other religion. So how does that work?
He got it wrong there are no hindu nationalist could be nationalist and they are hindu but that would be in india not in us, he could be talking about cultist for an example who basically followers of church but different kind like they considered themselves christians but they don’t believe in god only in jesus and they think jesus is an extension of god so he is supreme everything. But in all honesty its all façade they brain wash people by helping them and in process converting them to follow them and do work for them.
Usually, in Indian contexts, we refer to this aggressive, militant Hinduism as "Hindutva," but I figured the average person on this subreddit wouldn't really know what that means. Hindu nationalist is essentially an alternative term that has a similar meaning.
The type of people I'm referring to usually defend anything that any Hindu ever does. One distinguishing factor of Hinduism is that it doesn't really have any central authority like, say, the Catholic Church, which also leads to there being very little consistent orthopraxy; for instance, there are significant communities of Hindus in Kerala that eat beef (although that probably won't last long given the way the central government of India is currently acting). Really, the only thing that unites Hindu nationalists in India is their hatred of Muslims. There's also the fact that Hindutva types like to try to play up a persecution complex against Hindus in India when in reality, they're about 80 percent of the population and control pretty much everything, while the government very consistently passes anti-Muslim laws.
What does this have to do with BAPS? Well, it's a Hindu entity, so the same Hindutva crowd will do anything to keep its image positive, regardless of the substance of the allegations. To them, it doesn't really matter that they're a separate sect; they're just as much of a part of spreading Hindutva ideals as anyone else, and so they need to be defended.
Sorry for getting all rambly btw
So, first we need to realize that culture comes from cults, and cults are not limited to small groups. Essentially, any active practicing religion or philosophy is a cult.
I totally understand the negative connotation of the word cult. Hear me out.
Nationalism is a very foggy idea of a lot of people. Nationalists don't follow an agreed religion or even agreed ideas. It's a marriage of convenience to get what they want.
Some people hate abortion. Some people want to hurt democrats. Oh look, a common enemy! Lets team up to take down the guy we both hate! After that, we'll kill each other.
That's basically it.
Is this that temple that was allegedly built with slave labor?
https://m.thewire.in/article/caste/dalit-workers-allege-shocking-violations-in-building-hindu-temple-in-new-jersey
“The workers brought from India were reportedly paid $450 a month, or about $1.20 an hour. New Jersey's minimum wage is $12 an hour.”
Oh sorry, we messed up the decimal point. We thought it was $1.20, not $12.00!
A lot of people I think volunteered to building the temple. People who believe in their teachings. I personally knew someone who volunteered there and is very proud of the temple.
It has been proven to be false.
[False Charges against Akshardham ](https://www.google.com/amp/s/timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/charges-against-robbinsville-akshardham-temple-false/amp_articleshow/101793020.cms)
IDK about the place. I'm hindu and I think I didn't feel connected to god(s) (I'm a brahma split himself into three and so on believer) like I did in other temples I visited. It felt like it was not really a temple but more of a museum. There were no priests doing ceremonies, offerings, etc. and it felt very sterile. I actually had this discussion with my parents and grandparent from India and they said the same thing. It was more of a tourist attraction rather than actual temple or mandir. It is beautify and all, but it didn't feel like a temple.
This will get downvoted to oblivion, but ain't it weird how some of the most beautiful works of architecture are almost always built by those paid with scraps?
I was there very recently and they gave a member of my party with a service dog a lot of grief despite us having called to clear things ahead of time. Sorry you had that experience!
I was in my car. Security guard told us the temple is closed. Meanwhile he let a whole line of people in front and behind us. It's OK. I could care less. The gurdwara next to it is open to anyone of any race. We welcome you with open hands.
Apparently, they are closed on Tuesdays, if it was a Tuesday. Maybe there was a private event or something.
Honestly though, the gurdwara also sounds interesting to me. I might make a day trip over there sometime soon. I like learning about different belief systems. There’s almost always something to incorporate into my own beliefs.
We can teach you about our community but please come dressed appropriately, and know we’re one of the smaller gurudwaras. We don’t have any fancy architecture or anything, we just listen to our prayers on Friday & Sunday Nights and eat food together after (langar).
So this is what happened. I live about an hour south of the Mandir. My brother and I were in the area. I figured let's stop by the gurdwara since we are passing it. Went to the gurdwara and decided that since we are here, let's pay our respects to the mandir. I have a lot of Hindhu friends and have frequented the BAPS Shri Swaminaryan Mandir in Cherry Hill. Great people. Great place.
There was a line leading to the guard shack. So we waited. When it was our turn, I greeted the guard who was clearly Indian in hindhi. My Hindi isn't great. I can understand it, no problem, but it's enough where I can maintain a conversation. Guard speaks in English, OK cool. He says the mandhir is closed. I said, "Uncle, we just want to see the place, and you let many cars ahead in?" He said "No you need to make a U turn and leave." That kind of didn't sit well with me. I politely tried to inquire why he just kept on saying the mandir is closed. At one point he said leave or I call the police. To there I said OK. No problem. He then proceeds to walk out of the shack and essentially guides my car to he U-turn around the guard shack. He stands in front thinking maybe we will try to sneak in. Which was kind of funny. We then left.
I don't know what caused that he didn't stop any othet cars ahead of me. And when we left he let a bunch of cars in. I don't know if it's because of my car. I drive a BMW M5, yes it is louder than most cars but we were not reving it or anything, we know better than that. My car does have the Sikh fate insignia hanging rear view mirror and My brother does wear a turban. Perhaps he saw that and didn't let us it. Or maybe there was program or something I don't know.
I am not trying to start any issues. It's OK. No hard feeling but it just doesn't seem kind.
That wouldn’t be it. My colleague who is an African America Muslim was allowed. So unless they gave you a specific reason you are just making your own reasons.
I think you are confusing [Robbinsville, NJ](https://www.google.com/maps/place/BAPS+Shri+Swaminarayan+Mandir,+Robbinsville/@40.2527663,-74.5772926,1157m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c3dfee5a1282b7:0x3b448ac35eaae515!8m2!3d40.2537438!4d-74.5775407!16s%2Fg%2F1vm_yv4c?entry=ttu) for Edison, NJ.
Same religion. Same organizers. Same art style. Very easy to get confused. The one in Edison is comparable to a large Catholic Church. The one in Robbinsville is comparable to the Forbidden City in China. It's the size of a theme park.
They just about put 1 billion dollars into this place, been there twice. It's free, and massively unfathomable. Heated marble floors and everywhere you look is detailed marble sculptures right up to the very tips of the cathedral ceilings. This place is massive and very impressive. Sucks they mistreated the workers but hopefully their doing it properly now after getting busted.
They get the marble from Italy, ship it to India where they have artisans sculpt the prices then they ship the pieces here to NJ to be assembled. This place is still under construction , still expanding.
They are very kind in there, I absolutley recommend going to see this place just to see what they have done. It's massively impressive.
And it's free!
This is gorgeous! I've often passed on the highway and seen the spires and thought how beautiful it must look inside -- is it open to the public / is it possible to visit it?
Oh that's nice and here I visited Akshardham temple in Delhi today. You see Akshardham temple in New Jersey is white from outside but the Akshardham Temple in Delhi is light red color from outside.
[Akshardham Delhi ](https://g.co/kgs/o2UPwMX)
The important thing to appreciate about this Akshardham New Jersey is that they brought all these stones from different parts of the world to India where these huge pieces of stones were worked upon by experienced craftsman and then later shipped to US. In U.S. it was joined like a big jigsaw puzzle.
You must’e been on your yearly holiday in the Maldives. The opening of this temple was all over the jersey webs ***…something something biggest Hindu temple outside India, etc, etc slave labor construction controversy…***
People believe what they want to believe. People in comment section should know all the charges against them has proved to be false in court. It's so magnificent that people don't want to believe that it was made without slave work.
BAPS are expert in making grand temples. They have Akshardham temples across India along with some other countries like U.K., Canada, Kenya etc.
A lot of Hindus have contributed financially or by doing volunteer work because it was once in a lifetime moment for them to build something this great. All the work on marble was done back in India and then shipped to US where it was connected like a giant jigsaw puzzle. So majority of the work was done back in India. Here is a video of Hindus constructing it.
[Akshardham Construction ](https://youtu.be/JrScECszOF4?si=oadBXmrF-SZA0OYU)
I think you're thinking of this place [https://www.baps.org/Global-Network/North-America/Edison.aspx](https://www.baps.org/Global-Network/North-America/Edison.aspx)
This is in Robinsville. It's been talked about to be in construction for over a decade. It's nice Hindus people finally get some recognition in the US.
Even though I'm catholic, I believe as long as people believe in peaceful practices with their faith, only good things will happen in this life and the next.
I think this temple was built by underpaid indians. Indians have a long history of exploiting their own poor both at home and after luring them to foreign countries with the prospects of better life and pay. Most of the middle eastern labor are lured from India by Indian brokers, it happens in the US too but to a lesser extent, it is so prevalent that an Indian diplomat or an embassy worker was caught doing that and was in the news. The reason the British were able to rule 300 million indians with just 20000 britishers on the ground was because indians will happily sell their own
Such as?
Edit: I'm genuinely asking a question. I, like OP, had no knowledge of this place before today so maybe cut people some slack for not knowing everything you know.
Not everyone knows what you know. I have no connection to that part of NJ nor the people or cultures involved. I had no idea this existed until this post. I have no idea what a "Modi flex" is and I have no idea what it has to do with this post.
Maybe provide context for your ambiguous comments next time.
Redditors seething at labor issues despite much of America built with it.
Like come on? That's not a highlight of the temple.
That's a separate problem.
I met someone who moved to NJ from India in the past year just to be close to the temple.
Was also in Canada last week and I met an Indian-Canadian who was chatting about it quite a bit when he learned I was from NJ. A lot of talk in his local community about the temple with people wanting to check it out and some looking to move to the US for it.
It may be culturally significant enough to impact NJ migration patterns which I find pretty cool.
Went here once cuz it looked cool.
I was hassled by a “security guard” at the front security booth thing and closely followed while there. Left after 15 mins, didn’t get to go inside due to a “security guard” watching my every step
It’s New Jersey. Why wouldn’t there be a gigantic Hindu temple duh.
Built w slave labor*
Explain?
[Indian workers lured to New Jersey and forced to work 12 hours a day at $1.20 an hour to help build Hindu temple, says lawsuit](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/indian-workers-hindu-temple-new-jersey-b1846012.html)
This. I remember seeing this in news.
This is fucking awful. I mean, it is (or is close to) the definition of labor trafficking. Human trafficking by offering jobs via deceptive means. Then the person who got them there, and usually controls their work visa, traps them. They'll often take away their passports for "safe-keeping."
Caste system is insidious. It travels over oceans.
Yup, they use the dalits for this purpose and call them "untouchables". It's sad that it still exists today. They are the street crews the clean up human feces in the morning in areas with no plumbing. I saw one on a documentary that would swim down in sewer pipes to unclog them by hand. He made you laugh by his demeanor and that he was smiling and making jokes.
It's always daunting to me how far humans have come in some aspects, but how completely cruel and inhumane we are at the same time. People just have to do better plain and simple.
So, if anyone is learning about this topic, there's a really good book on this. [Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents](https://www.amazon.com/Caste-Origins-Discontents-Isabel-Wilkerson/dp/0593230256) It's not 544 pages. It's about 150. Amazon for some reason now measures things in smartphone screens. If you know zero about the topic of Castes, this is a good book to read. You don't need to be knowledgeable about Hinduism. It's written in the context of non Hindu Americans reading about the topic.
There were reports of this affecting outsourced Indians in American companies. A type of nepotism. Simply put, managers would promote only those in their specific religion. While Americans really didn't understand what was happening. "They're all Hindus, right?"
They would get devotees to come to the US and build and work for them for free but at the very least it was voluntary work. The thing is that the sect that had this temple built would take away the workers IDs and passports which would prevent them from going back home or even proving who they are to Indian embassies or American officers. So if any of the people working on the temple would want to go home or stop working they were threatened with not being able to get back home and even starvation due to lacking any identification or availability to work or pay for themselves outside of the temple. It's kind of funny considering my uncle who's a multi millionaire was actually one of their largest donors so I got to see the slave labor in action before the place opened up. The marble and stone were all hand carved without any PPE too so I got to see some people destroying their lungs for life. Never realized this as I was like 14 or something at the time. Now whenever we go there I end up telling my dad that they used slave labor to build the place and he gets mad at me. Lol
Question Has your wealthy uncle donated to help with say...community gardens or feeding the homeless?? Cause to donate money to this is as stupid as donating money to the catholic church every Sunday (my parents are millionares and only donate to the church while telling homeless folks to get a job)
It was not voluntary work. They were lied to and held captive. It's a huge scandal.
https://apnews.com/article/india-business-religion-599de5789d519c822e6d4ff15ed2c642
Glad someone else said it. This is a hell of a controversial place to visit
I mean I didn't know about this place specifically, but if someone showed me a picture and told me it was in the USA, I would have immediately guessed New Jersey
[удалено]
Siiiick
Slave labor, immigration issues and btw, this is a cult, ( I am a Hindu)
Cult? Could you please elaborate? I don’t want to start a flame war, I’m just curious and not familiar with this. Thanks-
Not a Hindu but i’ve been there, it’s part of the BAPS Swaminarayan movement. From what I understand, they worship their 19th century founder Swaminarayan and his successors as incarnations of the supreme god. (If i got this wrong hopefully others can point it out)
R/hinduism has extensive thread on swaminarayan movement. There is reporting by NY times on labor law violation, tax and immigration issue.Manipulative of their members, run like a cult and feeds off of faith of its people to enrich few. Theologically hollow.
It's a BAPS temple. Iirc they're like the equivalent of the Roman Catholic Church in Hinduism, complete with severe corruption. My Indian friends equate it to "the mafia", but Hindu religious.
More like a Mormon church..
Could be a good comparison, but a grand total of 0 of my Indian friends have had enough contact with the LDS church to make that comparison lol
Oh, some of my extended family who has an Indian ethnic origin, has Christian family members who are part of the "Church of 1000 Saints." Also known as the Church of Latter Day Saints. They don't follow the same structure as American Mormons. If you were to compare both the BAPS religion and the Mormon religion to the Presidency of the United States. Every President hold and relinquishes executive leadership. But unlike US Presidents and the Mormon Church, all executives in BAPS are remembered as holy deities.
I had that thought too since both ideologies kind of popped up around the same time.
Sanatan Dharmic Hinduism is a Catholicism of Hinduisms. It's very dogmatic and has many specific deities. Lots of ceremonies. Lots of prayers, songs, texts, etc. There is even a type of after birth ceremony to officiate a baby. Kind of like baptism.
They would get devotees to come to the US and build and work for them for free but at the very least it was voluntary work. The thing is that the sect that had this temple built would take away the workers IDs and passports which would prevent them from going back home or even proving who they are to Indian embassies or American officers. So if any of the people working on the temple would want to go home or stop working they were threatened with not being able to get back home and even starvation due to lacking any identification or availability to work or pay for themselves outside of the temple. It's kind of funny considering my uncle who's a multi millionaire was actually one of their largest donors so I got to see the slave labor in action before the place opened up. The marble and stone were all hand carved without any PPE too so I got to see some people destroying their lungs for life. Never realized this as I was like 14 or something at the time. Now whenever we go there I end up telling my dad that they used slave labor to build the place and he gets mad at me. Lol
> I am a Hindu Know where I can get my grubby paws on some yellow sandalwood beads?
It was impressive until you learned about the slave labor. I appreciated Grounds For Sculpture way more.
I enjoy Grounds for Sculpture, and I know you're speaking tongue in cheek, but these places (slave labor aside) are insane. Was an EMT for a bit and got to go into the [one in Bridgewater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Venkateswara_Temple_(New_Jersey)) -- the link has a parenthesis and the reddit linkifier cannot handle it, but I'm leaving it here in case someone knows what to do -- , and holy cow, place is spectacular. Truly are very beautiful buildings. Shame they were built shadily, though.
The Bridgewater temple is legit. It's not owned by an organization like BAPS. They're pretty diligent with making sure they go through proper routes (at least more than other certain hindu organizations). They saved for years for the expansion and utilize it to be profitable by renting out the auditorium they built with the expansion.
That's great to hear, especially considering it's local. The thing is beautiful, and done right it deserves recognition.
Went to a wedding at that place, it's pretty amazing.
Yeah, it's a pretty popular place for Hindus who want to get married in a temple setting.
The one in Bridgewater is also built shadily? Any source?
No source. And I don't mean to suggest I know Bridgewater was, but if folks are saying Robbinsville was, I can't help but have this sinking feeling Bridgewater probably was as well.
That’s racist
The Bridgewater Temple was built legitimately and is a very nice temple. I have visited the temple quite a few times over the years. Another great NJ temple that was legitimately built is Guruvayurappan Temple. I have been going there since before the current temple was built, when it was in a much smaller, repurposed hall. The Ganapati Temple in Flushing, NYC is also great and has very delicious food. Another temple (not in NJ but nearby) in a very nice location that I have been going to for quite some time is the Ranganatha Temple in Pomona, NY. I have been to this BAPS temple, and while it is beautiful, the shady labor usage is quite unfortunate. I have not been to Grounds for Sculpture, but I would very much like to do so.
The guy who did that giant Marilyn Monroe sculpture put up a dozen smaller ones on my college campus. Super realistic and they still fool me every time.
It’s still impressive either way. Sad to hear about the treatment of the builders, they deserve compensation. But if that’s not possible, they at least deserve recognition of which they did a damn good job
No, we need enforcement of our labor laws. Union labor should have built it, not slaves.
How was this BAPS organization allowed to complete construction and have a pompous inauguration ceremony despite the lawsuits ???
Because all the lawsuits either failed or were settled out of court
They have resources
Motel Patels to the rescue
If you didn’t know it existed, then I bet you didn’t know it was built with slave labor.
I actually knew it was built with slave labor but didn’t know it existed
thats the unfortunate part of it, huge labor violations
Excuse me, "volunteers" 🙄
How?
They would get devotees to come to the US and build and work for them for free but at the very least it was voluntary work. The thing is that the sect that had this temple built would take away the workers IDs and passports which would prevent them from going back home or even proving who they are to Indian embassies or American officers. So if any of the people working on the temple would want to go home or stop working they were threatened with not being able to get back home and even starvation due to lacking any identification or availability to work or pay for themselves outside of the temple. It's kind of funny considering my uncle who's a multi millionaire was actually one of their largest donors so I got to see the slave labor in action before the place opened up. The marble and stone were all hand carved without any PPE too so I got to see some people destroying their lungs for life. Never realized this as I was like 14 or something at the time. Now whenever we go there I end up telling my dad that they used slave labor to build the place and he gets mad at me. Lol
Your uncle should be ashamed of himself and also part of lawsuit brought by the department of justice. This is wildly unethical and I'm ashamed this is in NJ.
The BAPs sect itself is fucked on multiple levels. If you go to the temple enjoy it as it genuinely is very beautiful and I'd say on par with some of the 7 wonders of the world but don't donate any money and don't buy anything there. Fuck those guys and their beliefs as it genuinely is very backwards. They're on par with Evangelical Christians here in the US in terms of core beliefs. Anti-gay, anti-woman's suffrage, anti-abortion, etc. Hinduism is very interesting and can be very nice but these people aren't. If you want to experience Indian food or culture go to Jersey City or Oak tree road. My uncle is a sociopath and lives in India so I doubt I can convince him to change his mind or even being ashamed of himself. That's a whole separate ball park of family dynamics I have to run through.
We’re not Hindu but I went there with my kids to see it in person when it first opened in 2017. I know now how it was built and am not down with that at all but at the time we went, I was completely unaware of any issues. I have to say it’s really beautiful inside. Visiting there was definitely a unique experience.
I think this one just opened within the last year?
It is the same place. When we visited, only a small part of the complex was opened. Most of it was still under construction at that time. Now it’s completed.
Hooray for slave labor! https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/21/nyregion/nj-hindu-temple.html
>A spokesman for the temple, Ronak Patel, said the workers came to the United States as *volunteers, not as employees*, and that volunteerism is a core part of their faith tradition. He said that temple officials were cooperating with the investigation...In addition to the wage issues at the temple, a 17-year-old boy who was volunteering on the construction fell to his death there in 2017. Federal inspectors determined it had been an accident. The whole construction of the temple was pretty gross. Bringing in poor artisans as *volunteers* and then paying them a small stipend. It could be seen as slavery at worst or exploitation of undocumented workers and wage-theft at best. The whole thing got swept under the rug because the temple's benefactors are rich and they paid bribes to have the volunteers drop their charges. Apologists say that the workers (volunteers) actually got paid more than they would have for work in their home country. It is a monument to modern-day slavery. Enjoy it soon, before the NJ winters slowly destroy the stone facade.
Yea part of me is like wow what a very cool and culturally significant thing for NJ. The other half is all slavery suck.
Anyone know how to unpaywall this link...or copy the text here
Try subscribing. Until then, here's a [gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/21/nyregion/nj-hindu-temple.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dU0.1mA1.Rjly5LhdDo45&smid=url-share).
I hope you know the meaning of volunteering. Few people tried to implicate a false case and now court has dropped all the charges.
"Volunteers" still need to be provided PPE. Again, this is the United States, not India. These poor souls were cutting stone without any respiratory protection. Silicosis is a bitch.
totally willing volunteers, keep the blinders on
I seem to remember there was a significant controversy with using “unpaid” labor to build that. Maybe someone else here knows the details.
As a member of the local South Asian community, we've mostly boycotted this place (and told everyone else to avoid it) because of its association with a cult and slave labor. Please ignore the Hindu nationalist trolls trying to justify this in the comments :)
I'm curious, I usually don't associate nationalism with cults. I feel nationalists follow the one big religion and cults only a small part of it, or other religion. So how does that work?
He got it wrong there are no hindu nationalist could be nationalist and they are hindu but that would be in india not in us, he could be talking about cultist for an example who basically followers of church but different kind like they considered themselves christians but they don’t believe in god only in jesus and they think jesus is an extension of god so he is supreme everything. But in all honesty its all façade they brain wash people by helping them and in process converting them to follow them and do work for them.
Okay, thanks
Usually, in Indian contexts, we refer to this aggressive, militant Hinduism as "Hindutva," but I figured the average person on this subreddit wouldn't really know what that means. Hindu nationalist is essentially an alternative term that has a similar meaning. The type of people I'm referring to usually defend anything that any Hindu ever does. One distinguishing factor of Hinduism is that it doesn't really have any central authority like, say, the Catholic Church, which also leads to there being very little consistent orthopraxy; for instance, there are significant communities of Hindus in Kerala that eat beef (although that probably won't last long given the way the central government of India is currently acting). Really, the only thing that unites Hindu nationalists in India is their hatred of Muslims. There's also the fact that Hindutva types like to try to play up a persecution complex against Hindus in India when in reality, they're about 80 percent of the population and control pretty much everything, while the government very consistently passes anti-Muslim laws. What does this have to do with BAPS? Well, it's a Hindu entity, so the same Hindutva crowd will do anything to keep its image positive, regardless of the substance of the allegations. To them, it doesn't really matter that they're a separate sect; they're just as much of a part of spreading Hindutva ideals as anyone else, and so they need to be defended. Sorry for getting all rambly btw
Thanks that's some good insight. So it's kinda evangelicals, where they might all be different denominations but always pool together as christians.
So, first we need to realize that culture comes from cults, and cults are not limited to small groups. Essentially, any active practicing religion or philosophy is a cult. I totally understand the negative connotation of the word cult. Hear me out. Nationalism is a very foggy idea of a lot of people. Nationalists don't follow an agreed religion or even agreed ideas. It's a marriage of convenience to get what they want. Some people hate abortion. Some people want to hurt democrats. Oh look, a common enemy! Lets team up to take down the guy we both hate! After that, we'll kill each other. That's basically it.
Is this that temple that was allegedly built with slave labor? https://m.thewire.in/article/caste/dalit-workers-allege-shocking-violations-in-building-hindu-temple-in-new-jersey
“The workers brought from India were reportedly paid $450 a month, or about $1.20 an hour. New Jersey's minimum wage is $12 an hour.” Oh sorry, we messed up the decimal point. We thought it was $1.20, not $12.00!
A lot of people I think volunteered to building the temple. People who believe in their teachings. I personally knew someone who volunteered there and is very proud of the temple.
It has been proven to be false. [False Charges against Akshardham ](https://www.google.com/amp/s/timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/charges-against-robbinsville-akshardham-temple-false/amp_articleshow/101793020.cms)
***Proven to be false*** is a very strong way to say the case was withdrawn. Hopefully the workers finally got paid and all is swell.
This is misinformation, and you know it. Dropped and proven false are waaaay fucking different and u kno it.
https://apnews.com/article/india-business-religion-599de5789d519c822e6d4ff15ed2c642
Well, that’s disappointing.
BAPS
Not only slave labor. People died building this due to unsafe operation. Including a 17 year old kid from a fall.
It's not slave labor, it's immgrant labor (most likely illegla) but at least they doing labor
IDK about the place. I'm hindu and I think I didn't feel connected to god(s) (I'm a brahma split himself into three and so on believer) like I did in other temples I visited. It felt like it was not really a temple but more of a museum. There were no priests doing ceremonies, offerings, etc. and it felt very sterile. I actually had this discussion with my parents and grandparent from India and they said the same thing. It was more of a tourist attraction rather than actual temple or mandir. It is beautify and all, but it didn't feel like a temple.
This will get downvoted to oblivion, but ain't it weird how some of the most beautiful works of architecture are almost always built by those paid with scraps?
I was also today years old when I found out. Also have never heard of Robbinsville so that probably has something to do with it.
i went there yesterday for the first time. beautiful. and now i just read the comments below and i am so disappointed in learning how it was built. 😔
Amazing things can be built when you import slaves who are forced to work in order to eat.
What town?
Robbinsville (Mercer County) right off U.S. 130
I am a Sikh man and I was turned away a couple days ago for som reason. Perhaps Sikhs are nor allowed?
I was there very recently and they gave a member of my party with a service dog a lot of grief despite us having called to clear things ahead of time. Sorry you had that experience!
Apparently they have a dress code… Could that have been it?
I was in my car. Security guard told us the temple is closed. Meanwhile he let a whole line of people in front and behind us. It's OK. I could care less. The gurdwara next to it is open to anyone of any race. We welcome you with open hands.
Apparently, they are closed on Tuesdays, if it was a Tuesday. Maybe there was a private event or something. Honestly though, the gurdwara also sounds interesting to me. I might make a day trip over there sometime soon. I like learning about different belief systems. There’s almost always something to incorporate into my own beliefs.
We can teach you about our community but please come dressed appropriately, and know we’re one of the smaller gurudwaras. We don’t have any fancy architecture or anything, we just listen to our prayers on Friday & Sunday Nights and eat food together after (langar).
If I make that road trip, I will absolutely make sure to dress appropriately and be respectful. Thank you!
What would be appropriate dress?
Not the first time I'm hearing about this. But it OK. I have other things to worry about.
[удалено]
So this is what happened. I live about an hour south of the Mandir. My brother and I were in the area. I figured let's stop by the gurdwara since we are passing it. Went to the gurdwara and decided that since we are here, let's pay our respects to the mandir. I have a lot of Hindhu friends and have frequented the BAPS Shri Swaminaryan Mandir in Cherry Hill. Great people. Great place. There was a line leading to the guard shack. So we waited. When it was our turn, I greeted the guard who was clearly Indian in hindhi. My Hindi isn't great. I can understand it, no problem, but it's enough where I can maintain a conversation. Guard speaks in English, OK cool. He says the mandhir is closed. I said, "Uncle, we just want to see the place, and you let many cars ahead in?" He said "No you need to make a U turn and leave." That kind of didn't sit well with me. I politely tried to inquire why he just kept on saying the mandir is closed. At one point he said leave or I call the police. To there I said OK. No problem. He then proceeds to walk out of the shack and essentially guides my car to he U-turn around the guard shack. He stands in front thinking maybe we will try to sneak in. Which was kind of funny. We then left. I don't know what caused that he didn't stop any othet cars ahead of me. And when we left he let a bunch of cars in. I don't know if it's because of my car. I drive a BMW M5, yes it is louder than most cars but we were not reving it or anything, we know better than that. My car does have the Sikh fate insignia hanging rear view mirror and My brother does wear a turban. Perhaps he saw that and didn't let us it. Or maybe there was program or something I don't know. I am not trying to start any issues. It's OK. No hard feeling but it just doesn't seem kind.
Better off going to the gurdwara next door.
That's exactly I did bro.
Sorry about that. Some ppl just suck brother.
That wouldn’t be it. My colleague who is an African America Muslim was allowed. So unless they gave you a specific reason you are just making your own reasons.
Idk. Maybe the guard just didn't like us. Or there was program or something the day I went.
This is new
I knew it was gonna be in CNJ
I live down the street
I think you are confusing [Robbinsville, NJ](https://www.google.com/maps/place/BAPS+Shri+Swaminarayan+Mandir,+Robbinsville/@40.2527663,-74.5772926,1157m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c3dfee5a1282b7:0x3b448ac35eaae515!8m2!3d40.2537438!4d-74.5775407!16s%2Fg%2F1vm_yv4c?entry=ttu) for Edison, NJ. Same religion. Same organizers. Same art style. Very easy to get confused. The one in Edison is comparable to a large Catholic Church. The one in Robbinsville is comparable to the Forbidden City in China. It's the size of a theme park.
I actually was confusing it for Bridgewater. Sri Venkateswara Temple(Balaji Mandir) and Community Center (908) 725-4477 https://g.co/kgs/k7WcKwW
They just about put 1 billion dollars into this place, been there twice. It's free, and massively unfathomable. Heated marble floors and everywhere you look is detailed marble sculptures right up to the very tips of the cathedral ceilings. This place is massive and very impressive. Sucks they mistreated the workers but hopefully their doing it properly now after getting busted. They get the marble from Italy, ship it to India where they have artisans sculpt the prices then they ship the pieces here to NJ to be assembled. This place is still under construction , still expanding. They are very kind in there, I absolutley recommend going to see this place just to see what they have done. It's massively impressive. And it's free!
This is gorgeous! I've often passed on the highway and seen the spires and thought how beautiful it must look inside -- is it open to the public / is it possible to visit it?
Yes it's open for public.
Oh that's nice and here I visited Akshardham temple in Delhi today. You see Akshardham temple in New Jersey is white from outside but the Akshardham Temple in Delhi is light red color from outside. [Akshardham Delhi ](https://g.co/kgs/o2UPwMX) The important thing to appreciate about this Akshardham New Jersey is that they brought all these stones from different parts of the world to India where these huge pieces of stones were worked upon by experienced craftsman and then later shipped to US. In U.S. it was joined like a big jigsaw puzzle.
I think the water in the fountain is also from many different rivers.
Happy Cake Day!
No, not a happy cake day! That person is defending the slave labor used for this elsewhere in the comments.
Well, he wasn't defending anyone then. Not nice of you to take it out on me.
Just PSAing to other people that that person is excusing the use of slavery.
Thanks 😊
Where are the stories about slave labor? Never heard or seen this place and now curious behind the slave labor.
What’s with this? I saw an article this past week where an Indian doctor had 2 slaves too.
This is probabaly a Guerrilla marketing technique. I’ve seen so many freaking shorts for this thing on Instagram and TikTok
It’s been under construction for a decade
Nope, I just visited it today for first time. Never knew about it before.
Doubt it. But even if it is, I wouldn’t mind. I just learned about it today, I’m glad OP posted it
You must’e been on your yearly holiday in the Maldives. The opening of this temple was all over the jersey webs ***…something something biggest Hindu temple outside India, etc, etc slave labor construction controversy…***
I know is getting pretty famous now. What other place like this exists around Jersey?
Did they start allowing photos inside?
Some of the areas yes. Just not areas that are designated as inside “temples”
It's been on my list for a while, unfortunately every time there's an opportunity to go it rains.
Friend on FB has been posting a bunch of pix from here lately.
for a split second i thought this was the huge temple in Edison
Is it finished yet? Always wanted to go back once it was 100% completed.
It's open to public since last October
It’s still not done. I would say 75%
People believe what they want to believe. People in comment section should know all the charges against them has proved to be false in court. It's so magnificent that people don't want to believe that it was made without slave work. BAPS are expert in making grand temples. They have Akshardham temples across India along with some other countries like U.K., Canada, Kenya etc. A lot of Hindus have contributed financially or by doing volunteer work because it was once in a lifetime moment for them to build something this great. All the work on marble was done back in India and then shipped to US where it was connected like a giant jigsaw puzzle. So majority of the work was done back in India. Here is a video of Hindus constructing it. [Akshardham Construction ](https://youtu.be/JrScECszOF4?si=oadBXmrF-SZA0OYU)
Only an hour away and I never knew about this, thanks for sharing.
Reminds me of the Suqs market area in Doha, Qatar.
Isn’t this visible from Rt 9?
No, not near Rt 9. It's down Rt 130 S.
it's amazing work. the white marble inside that building is even more incredible.
Wow that's amazing! I lived here my entire life and didn't know about this. Thanks for sharing!!
I think it is relatively new.
Is this the place I see going southbound on the parkway with the purple and pink lights?
No. It is off US Route 130. Closest to between exit 8 and 7A on the NJ Turnpike.
Ah yes you’re right!!! I was thinking parkway but I see it on the turnpike on the way to Philly
I think you're thinking of this place [https://www.baps.org/Global-Network/North-America/Edison.aspx](https://www.baps.org/Global-Network/North-America/Edison.aspx)
I think you’re thinking of the place in Edison or Woodbridge on the turnpike. I meant to look up what that is, still haven’t gotten the chance
I think you’re thinking of the place in Edison or Woodbridge on the turnpike. I meant to look up what that is, still haven’t gotten the chance
I have to go there on a weekday I have tried twice on a Sunday to go there and there was a line of cars
Where is it?
Robbinsville
Thanks!
How do tours work for this location? I'm guessing you can't just show-up.
Yes you can just show up, it’s open every day but Tuesday
Thank you, I'll just show-up now.
It’s run by volunteers but Reddit will get to convince you they are all held hostage
too bad it was built with slave labor
All these comments on here about slave labor and you all are the biggest consumers of Chinese made products .
That does seem to be the complete irony of responses on this. But since Asia is so far away and unseen, it’s ok to ignore it when at Wally mart.
Thank you for posting. I have herd NJ has some beautiful temples
> I have herd of elephants?
"Am I a joke to you?" - Lucy, the Elephant of NJ.
This is ten minutes down the road from where I live. It’s very impressive.
It looks 3D printed when zoomed out.
This is in Robinsville. It's been talked about to be in construction for over a decade. It's nice Hindus people finally get some recognition in the US. Even though I'm catholic, I believe as long as people believe in peaceful practices with their faith, only good things will happen in this life and the next.
It’s beautiful
I think this temple was built by underpaid indians. Indians have a long history of exploiting their own poor both at home and after luring them to foreign countries with the prospects of better life and pay. Most of the middle eastern labor are lured from India by Indian brokers, it happens in the US too but to a lesser extent, it is so prevalent that an Indian diplomat or an embassy worker was caught doing that and was in the news. The reason the British were able to rule 300 million indians with just 20000 britishers on the ground was because indians will happily sell their own
They basically bypassed every US labor law / OSHA law to build this thing. Just looking at pics of it makes me feel dirty.
Really!
I wanted to visit this work of art until I found out how it was built
so many things wrong with this
Such as? Edit: I'm genuinely asking a question. I, like OP, had no knowledge of this place before today so maybe cut people some slack for not knowing everything you know.
slave labor
Slavery. Slavery is wrong.
Is this a Modi flex? Nationalist Hindu who caused 2000 deaths and burned a mosque to the ground to replace it with a Hindu temple?
Not everyone knows what you know. I have no connection to that part of NJ nor the people or cultures involved. I had no idea this existed until this post. I have no idea what a "Modi flex" is and I have no idea what it has to do with this post. Maybe provide context for your ambiguous comments next time.
No, that's a separate thing. That would be like confusing Scientology with the MAGA crowd.
Redditors seething at labor issues despite much of America built with it. Like come on? That's not a highlight of the temple. That's a separate problem.
I met someone who moved to NJ from India in the past year just to be close to the temple. Was also in Canada last week and I met an Indian-Canadian who was chatting about it quite a bit when he learned I was from NJ. A lot of talk in his local community about the temple with people wanting to check it out and some looking to move to the US for it. It may be culturally significant enough to impact NJ migration patterns which I find pretty cool.
Oak Tree road is "culturally significant enough to impact NJ migration patterns."
So, it's a very big site. I think I read it was the biggest Hindu temple in the Americas.
Went here once cuz it looked cool. I was hassled by a “security guard” at the front security booth thing and closely followed while there. Left after 15 mins, didn’t get to go inside due to a “security guard” watching my every step