The Indian Consulate in New York has condemned the vandalism at the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple, and said it has raised the matter with US law enforcement authorities for immediate action against the perpetrators of this “heinous act.” “The vandalism at the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Melville, New York is unacceptable,” the Indian Consulate said in a post on X on Monday. It added that the Consulate “is in touch with the community and has raised the matter with US law enforcement authorities for immediate action against the perpetrators of this heinous act.”
Melville is located in Suffolk County on Long Island and is about 28 km from the 16,000-seat Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a large community event on September 22. According to images shared online, expletives have been sprayed on the road and signage outside the temple.
The temple is expected to hold a prayer meeting at noon Monday following the incident. The Hindu American Foundation said in a post on X on Monday that the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security “must investigate” the attack on the temple “following recent threats to Hindu institutions as a large gathering of the Indian community is planned in nearby Nassau County this weekend.”
“It is difficult to understand the utter cowardice of those who would attack a Hindu temple to express their hatred of an elected leader. This attack, which follows recent threats against Hindu and Indian institutions, must be seen in the context of that threat scenario,” Hindu American Foundation executive director Suhag Shukla said in a post on X.
He also mentioned that Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had recently shared a video threatening Hindu and Indian institutions. He said that the incident of vandalism in New York is similar to the attacks on temples that occurred in California and Canada.
“Gurpatwant Pannun of Sikhs for Justice recently posted a video threatening Hindu and Indian institutions, including HAF, as the community event approaches. The vandalism is similar to that seen in attacks on temples in New York, California, and Canada and reported by @CongressmanRaja @RoKhanna @ShriThanedar @PramilaJayapal @BeraForCongress @shuvmajumdar and other political leaders,” the Hindu American Foundation posted on X.
In early July, the BAPS Swaminarayan temple was vandalised in Edmonton, Canada. Canadian MP Chandra Arya expressed deep concern over the escalation of hate-motivated incidents against Canadian Hindu communities.
In a post on X, Chandra Arya said: “The BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple in Edmonton has been vandalized again. Over the past few years, Hindu temples in the Greater Toronto Area, British Columbia and other places in Canada have been vandalized with hate graffiti.”
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