UAE sees first Hindu temple inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has today inaugurated Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple, ahead of its public opening scheduled for Sunday. Modi is in the Gulf on a two-day visit, with Qatar next on the itinerary.

Speaking yesterday at the “Ahlan [welcome] Modi” event for the Indian diaspora at Zayed Sports Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the prime minister also mentioned the opening of the new temple. Almost 40 per cent of the population of the UAE are of an Indian background.

“In 2015,” said Modi, “when I presented to him [Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed] the proposal to build a temple in Abu Dhabi on behalf of all of you, he immediately said yes to it… now the time has come to inaugurate this grand temple.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates BAPS Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, UAE pic.twitter.com/YkUD3zabuM

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The unveiling of the temple also coincides with the UAE and India signing an agreement for a trade corridor that aims to connect Europe with India through parts of the Middle East by sea and rail.

Affiliated with the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a Hindu denomination, the BAPS Hindu Mandir, Abu Dhabi is the largest in the region, built on a 27-acre (11-hectare) plot donated by the UAE government. The 108 feet-high temple is made from pink sandstone from India’s Rajasthan state and white Italian marble. The stones for the temple were carved in India and assembled in Dubai.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers prayers at the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Mandir in Abu Dhabi. pic.twitter.com/ttYfdqGplt

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2024

The establishment of the Hindu temple in the capital of India’s key strategic partner the UAE, comes weeks after Modi inaugurated a controversial temple in Ayodhya on the site of a former Mughal-era mosque. The Babri Masjid was demolished by a mob of Hindu extremists in 1992, spurred on by members of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Both moves are seen as bolstering Modi’s credentials and his Hindu nationalist agenda in India’s upcoming election in two months, in which he seeks a third term in office.

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