A Hindu temple belonging to the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) in Greenwood, Indiana, United States, has been desecrated, allegedly by pro-Khalistan separatists, according to the Hindu American Foundation (HAF). The organisation said that the temple’s walls were defaced with anti-India and anti-Prime Minister Narendra Modi graffiti, marking the fourth such incident targeting Hindu places of worship in the United States this year.

HAF shared video footage of the vandalism on X (formerly Twitter), urging elected officials to “move beyond empty condemnations” and take concrete action.

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“For the fourth time in less than a year, a Hindu Mandir has been desecrated; this time the @BAPS Mandir in Greenwood, IN. Vandalising temples with anti-India graffiti is a tactic often used by pro-Khalistan separatist activists and a stark reminder of how slurring American Hindus as ‘Hindutva’ fuels hate like this,” the group posted.

The Indian Embassy in Chicago has condemned the desecration asnd urged the law enforcement authorities to take stricter action. The Consulate General of India in Chicago’s post on X reads, “Desecration of the main signboard of the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Greenwood, Indiana is reprehensible. The Consulate is in touch with the community and has raised the matter with law enforcement authorities for prompt action. Today, the Consul General addressed a gathering of devotees and local leadership, including the Mayor of Greenwood, calling for unity & solidarity, and vigilance against miscreants there.” 

Pattern of temple desecrations

The Greenwood incident is part of a series of attacks on Hindu temples across the US over the past year. In March 2024, an iconic temple in Southern California was similarly defaced with anti-Hindu and anti-Indian government graffiti. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi condemned the act, calling it “despicable” and urging American law enforcement agencies to take “stringent action” while ensuring adequate security for places of worship.

In September 2023, the BAPS temple in Melville, New York, was spray-painted with anti-India slogans. Just nine days later, another temple near Sacramento was targeted. That December, the Newark, California, BAPS temple was al

Stricter action needed

The repeated nature of these incidents has prompted growing frustration among Hindu advocacy groups, who say the response from authorities has been inadequate. HAF emphasised that such attacks are not isolated acts of vandalism but part of a coordinated hate campaign, often linked to separatist extremism.

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The locals are urging law enforcement agencies to treat these crimes as serious hate offences, arguing that repeated targeting of Hindu temples undermines the sense of safety among Indian-Americans and other Hindu communities in the US.