Indian opposition leader questions BAPS temple inauguration near Paris: Was this a state visit?
Anish Gawande tells France 24 that the controversy over the BAPS temple near Paris runs deeper than the Eiffel Tower incident, exposing an ambiguous overlap of religion, diplomacy and political power.
In a conversation with François Picard on Spotlight, Anish Gawande said the uproar over the opening of a BAPS temple near Paris should not be treated as an isolated dispute about the treatment of female staff at the Eiffel Tower. Instead, he sees it as revealing a broader, under-examined intersection of religion, diplomacy, political power, labor practices and diaspora politics.
At the heart of the issue, according to Gawande, is uncertainty over where private religious activity ends and state-sanctioned activity begins. He questioned why senior Indian diplomatic representation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on India-France ties accompanied the inauguration if the ceremony was not an official event. Gawande also pointed to Modi’s long-standing political association with BAPS and drew attention to controversies and allegations around the organization’s social, labor and political record abroad.
He challenged the idea that the new temple simply represents Hinduism in France, stressing the country’s diverse Hindu traditions and varied Indian communities. He also warned that the Eiffel Tower controversy could take on a political life beyond BAPS, particularly if far-right political narratives about immigration, religion and national identity in France seize on it.
Gawande’s central point is both institutional and political: the controversy should trigger scrutiny of how the project was facilitated, how land was allocated, whether labor protections were respected, and where the lines were drawn between religious organizations and state power.
