Modi Inaugurates Abu Dhabi’s First Hindu Temple Constructed by BAPS
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 14: Marking a significant milestone for the Indian community in the Middle East, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu stone temple, which is also the largest in the region, amid devotional chants and in the presence of spiritual leaders of the Swaminarayan sect.
Spread over 27 acres and built at a cost of over ₹ 700 crore, the BAPS Hindu temple is also seen as a sign of the deepening relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates. The Prime Minister also participated in “Global Aarti”, which was performed simultaneously at over 1,200 temples of the Swaminarayan sect worldwide built by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (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 temple represented the idea of coexistence – A Muslim king donated land for a Hindu Mandir where the lead architect is a Catholic Christian, the Project Manager is a Sikh, and the Foundational designer is a Buddhist. Construction Company is a Parsi group, and the director comes from a Jain tradition.
Mr 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 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 that year. Built by the BAPS, the temple is located in Abu Mreikhah, near Al Rahba off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway. 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.
“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, said.
“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.
Mr 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 was becoming the epicentre of the global economy and praised UAE President Al Nahyan, describing him as “a leader with vision and resolve.”
The inauguration of the BAPS Hindu temple will be celebrated through the 12-day ‘Festival of Harmony’. The celebration commenced on February 10 and will continue until February 21 with a series of programmes and community events. The cost of the construction of the temple is estimated to be around 400 million UAE Dirhams.
Members of the Indian community in the UAE dressed in traditional attires on Wednesday expressed joy in attending the inauguration of the first Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabi, which has addressed their long-pending wish. Dancing their way to the entry of the temple, Moksha Rangnekar, dressed up in a traditional Maharashtrian saree, led the group of people from her state. “Our Ganpati now has a temple here. It is like an early Ganpati mahotsav celebration for us this year. We have been waiting for this for years,” Rangnekar, who has been living in the UAE for 32 years, said.
The temple is even more special for members of the Oriya community as it is the first temple in the UAE to have a Jagannath idol. “There are temples in other parts of the UAE but there is no Jagannath idol there. It is a magical moment for us,” said Kartik Singh, who works for an oil and gas company.
Women from Bengali families performed “dhuni nach” at the entry of the temple premises. “This is performed when we welcome Ma Durga and today we are welcoming our gods to the land we call home now,” Stupta Das, an engineer, said. Children from Tamil Nadu dressed in traditional mundu were also seen.
Barki Gayatri Prakash from Bengaluru who used to live in the UAE till 2022 has come from India especially to attend the inauguration. “I had even laid a brick when the construction was going on, though I have moved back to India now but I didn’t want to miss the occasion. I used to miss going to a temple when I was here,” she said.
The front side panel has lifesize panels of universal values, stories of harmony from different cultures, and representation of Avatars and Hindu Spiritual leaders. The external facade of the mandir uses pink sandstone from Rajasthan. The mandir interior uses Italian marble with two central domes – ‘The Dome of Harmony’ and ‘The Dome of Peace’. No iron material is used in the temple. Different types of pillars can be seen in the temple like circular, and hexagonal.
There are idols of historic figures, sages, and acharyas, who have sustained these values, that plinth is known as the plinth of values. Apart from Indian civilization, stories are taken from the Maya, Aztec, Egyptian, Arabic, European, Chinese and African civilizations etc.
According to the temple authorities, the grand temple has been built as per an ancient style of construction and creation mentioned in the Shilpa and Sthapathya Shastras, Hindu scriptures which describe the art for mandir design and construction.
“The architectural methods have been clubbed with scientific techniques here. Over 300 high-tech sensors have been installed at every level of the temple to measure temperature, pressure and movement (seismic activity). The sensors will provide live data for research. If there is any earthquake in the region, the temple will detect it, and we will be able to study,” Swami Brahmaviharidas, head of international relations for BAPS, said. No metal has been used in the construction of the temple and fly ash has been used to fill up the foundation, replacing 55 per cent of cement in the concrete mix, reducing the carbon footprint of the temple.
Madhusudan Patel, the temple’s construction manager, said, “We have used heat-resistant nano tiles and heavy glass panels, merging both traditional aesthetic stone structures with modern-day functionality. Considering the extreme temperatures in the UAE, the tiles will be comfortable for visitors to walk even in hot weather. Non-ferrous material has also been used in the temple.” Constructed with 18 lakh bricks, seven lakh man hours and 1.8 lakh cubic metres of sandstone sourced directly from Rajasthan — Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple has been made in the Nagara style of architecture, just like the recently inaugurated Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
According to Umesh Raja, a volunteer at the temple, 20,000 tonnes of sandstone pieces were carved in Rajasthan and then shipped to Abu Dhabi in 700 containers. “Not just the stone, many labourers who helped construct the temple over five years belong to Gujarat and Rajasthan. Even the marble mined from Italy was first shipped to India for carving and then back to the UAE to be used in the interiors,” he said.
The UAE has three other Hindu temples that are located in Dubai. The BAPS temple, spread over a large area with stone architecture, will be the largest of all in the Gulf region.
