Marking a significant milestone for the Indian community in the Middle East, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple, which is also the largest in the region.

Spread over 27 acres and built at a cost of over Rs 700 crore, the BAPS Hindu temple is also seen as a sign of the deepening relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking after inaugurating the temple PM Modi said in Hindi, “UAE has written a golden chapter in human history today. A grand and holy temple has been inaugurated in Abu Dhabi today. Years of hard work have gone into this temple and a long-cherished dream has come true. Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s blessings are also with this temple.”

Referring to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 the PM said, amid cheers, “A centuries-old dream was fulfilled. All of India and every Indian is still cherishing that feeling. My friend Brahmavihari Swamy was saying, ‘Modi ji s the biggest priest’. I don’t know if I have the qualifications of a temple priest but I am proud to be a priest of Maa Bharti (Mother India).”

Stating that every moment of his life and every molecule in his body is dedicated to Ma Bharti, the Prime Minister said, “The joy we felt in Ayodhya has been amplified in Abu Dhabi today. It is my honour that I witnessed the consecration of the temple in Ayodhya last month and this temple in Abu Dhabi today.”

PM Modi – who is in the UAE on a two-day visit and will leave for Qatar later on Wednesday – had praised UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during an address at a mega diaspora event on Tuesday and said that the then crown prince had agreed to donate land for the temple during the leaders’ meeting in 2015. 

“I consider the construction of BAPS temple here as a reflection of your love for India and your vision for the bright future of UAE. This would not have been possible without your support. During our first meeting, I had made a simple request for you to look into it and you took a prompt decision, telling me ‘put your finger on any piece of land, you will get it’,” the PM had said. 

Mr Al Nahyan donated 13.5 acres of land for the construction of the temple in 2015 and PM Modi had laid the foundation three years later. Construction began in 2019 after an additional 13.5 acres of land was donated earlier that year.

Built by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), the temple is located in Abu Mreikhah, near Al Rahba. The consecration ceremony of the idols began at the temple on Wednesday morning. 

Temple authorities said seven shikhars (spires) have been built at the temple representing the seven emirates that form the UAE.

PM Modi also participated in a ‘global aarti (prayer)’, which was performed simultaneously at over 1,200 temples built by BAPS. Before inaugurating the temple, he offered water in the virtual Ganga and Yamuna rivers at the temple and met people from different religions who played a role in its construction. 

“The seven spires have idols of deities, including Lord Ram, Lord Shiv, Lord Jagannath, Lord Krishna, Lord Swaminarayan (considered a reincarnation of Lord Krishna), Tirupati Balaji and Lord Ayappa. The seven shikhars represent the seven emirates of UAE,” Swami Brahmaviharidas, head of international relations for BAPS, told PTI.

“The seven spires also pay homage to seven important deities, underscoring the interconnectedness of cultures and religions. Normally, our temples are either one spire, three, or five but the seven spires express our gratitude to the unity of the seven emirates. But at the same time, the seven spires enshrine seven important deities… The spirals aim to promote unity and harmony in the multicultural landscape,” he said.

PM Modi’s visit to the UAE is his seventh since 2015 and his third in eight months. Addressing the World Government Summit in Dubai earlier on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said Dubai is becoming the epicentre of the global economy and praised UAE President Al Nahyan, describing him as “a leader with vision and resolve”.

After the inauguration, PM Modi will leave for Doha and hold a bilateral meeting with the Qatari leadership. PM Modi’s visit to the country comes on the heels of Qatar releasing eight navy veterans from prison, which was seen as a huge diplomatic victory for India. 

Marking a significant milestone for the Indian community in the Middle East, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple, which is also the largest in the region. 

Spread over 27 acres and built at a cost of over Rs 700 crore, the BAPS Hindu temple is also seen as a sign of the deepening relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates.

PM Modi also participated in a ‘global aarti (prayer)’, which was performed simultaneously at over 1,200 temples built by BAPS. The Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir or BAPS Hindu Mandir, is spread over a 27-acre piece of land. The temple is 108 feet high and 180 feet wide and its seven spires represent the seven emirates.

The temple has 402 pillars and iron has not been used in any of them, making it the first Hindu stone temple in UAE. The pillars in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple are made of white Italian marble.

The pillars have intricate carvings of deities and symbols central to the Hindu religion. Seven shrines of different deities including, Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Lakshmi, and Lord Shiv, are present in the temple. 

“Dome of Harmony has different levels. These levels represent the fire, earth, air, water and space. The shank represents water, Tej represents the sun and running Deers represent air,” a volunteer told NDTV.

“Every pillar inside the sanctum sanctorum is unique and every pillar has its pillar. There are 1,400 pillars, protected by a transparent shield. They represent differences, but they all make one pillar,” the volunteer added. 

The depiction of different civilizations on pillars makes the temple’s architecture unique. Apart from Indian civilization, stories are taken from the Maya, Aztec, Egyptian, Arabic, European, Chinese and African civilizations etc.

In a shrine of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita, the Ramayan has been carved on the stones and ‘shankh’ (shell) and sun have been sculpted on the dome of the shrine. The Vedic-style temple has two central domes – the ‘Dome of Harmony’ and the ‘Dome of Peace’.

The fine detailing in sculpting the deities and symbols makes the temple an architectural brilliance.

Amid a political firestorm between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP over claims of sexual assault by aides of a strongman from the ruling party in Sandeshkhali, NDTV spoke to some of the women, who said they are “living in fear”. Conversations with the women revealed that while the allegations of rape may not be true, many were called to the party office at odd hours and were threatened if they refused. Some women also spoke of their husbands being tortured.

NDTV visited Sandeshkhali, an island close to the Indo-Bangladesh border where prohibitory orders have been imposed on all entry points, on Wednesday. While some women who have been protesting against Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan’s aides agreed to speak, none of them wanted to reveal their identity in front of television cameras, fearing reprisal and persecution.

One woman, who participated in the protests earlier, told NDTV, “These incidents must have taken place, otherwise why will the women say these things? You must enquire for yourself. Why else will women come out on the streets and speak out? Are they lying? There must be truth in these statements.”

“We are living in fear. We don’t come out of our homes because of fear,” she added.

Another woman said, “They (Shahjahan’s aides) would call women for meetings or rallies but there was no fixed time. It could be day or night. We would have to go whenever they called and if we didn’t, they would threaten us.”

“Even if we did not want to go, they would force us. They gave us examples of the Lakshmi Bhandar scheme and the free rice scheme. They said Didi (West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee) is feeding you but you still won’t go to meetings? Even if it is at night, you have to go or we will kidnap you, they would say,” another woman claimed.

The women named Sheikh Shahjahan’s aides, Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar. While Sardar has been arrested, Hazra is on the run. Shahjahan has also been missing since an Enforcement Directorate team was attacked by a mob during a raid on his house in connection with an alleged ration scam on January 5.

“Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar would call us to the party office even at night on the pretext of holding a meeting,” another woman alleged.

Asked if there have been allegations of sexual assault, the woman said, “They would torture us. They targeted women by picking up their husbands and beating them up with a stick in the party office. If we refused to go to the party office, they would pick up the men and thrash them so we would be forced to go.”

Claims, Counterclaims

Earlier on Wednesday, West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar allegedly suffered injuries during a clash with the police as he attempted to go to Sandeshkhali despite police restrictions and prohibitory orders. He has been admitted to a hospital in Kolkata. Some have claimed Mr Majumdar’s injuries were the result of him falling after climbing atop a police car to protest.

The BJP has alleged that women have been sexually harassed and raped in Sandeshkhali and wanted to visit the area to speak to them.

Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari. said, “What happened with BJP state president is being condemned by the whole country. As Leader of Opposition, I condemn the way the state police treated him. We will protest against this on Thursday. Action should be taken against the person whose orders are being followed by the police.”

The Trinamool hit back at the BJP and said the opposition party wants to create trouble as peace is returning to the area. West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja told reporters, “There is a competition between BJP leaders over who is a bigger leader and who can reach Sandeshkhali. Because of this competition, they attempted to reach Sandeshkhali again. They protested on Tuesday as well. Now they say he (Mr Majumdar) has fainted. He has been brought to Kolkata for treatment.”

“We are saying that the situation is returning to normal and the National Women’s Commission visited the area on Wednesday and they are also saying no sexual harassment of women has taken place. What does Sukanta Majumdar want to hear after this,” Mr Panja asked.

In a post on X, the West Bengal Police has also denied any such allegations or complaints and warned against “wilful misinformation” by sections of the media.