‘Was this a state visit?’ Indian opposition leader raises serious questions over Paris BAPS temple

François Picard is pleased to welcome Anish Gawande. Hee sees the controversy surrounding the inauguration of the BAPS temple near Paris as more than an isolated dispute over the treatment of female staff at the Eiffel Tower. From his perspective, the incident exposes a broader and insufficiently scrutinized intersection of religion, diplomacy, political power, labor practices, and diaspora politics. At the center of his argument is an ambiguity over the boundary between private religious state-sanctioned activity. Gawande questions why senior Indian diplomatic representation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks invoking India-France relations accompanied the inauguration if the ceremony was not official. He highlights Modi’s longstanding political association with BAPS, while also invoking controversies and allegations surrounding the organization’s labor practices abroad.Gawande challenges the notion that the new temple is solely representative of Hinduism in France, highlighting the country’s longer and more diverse Hindu traditions and communities. And he warns that the Eiffel Tower controversy may acquire a political life beyond BAPS itself, particularly if it becomes material for far-right narratives about immigrants, religion, and national identity in France. His central contention is therefore institutional as much as political: the controversy should prompt scrutiny not only of what happened at the Eiffel Tower, but of how the project was facilitated, how land was allocated, whether labor protections were respected, and where the boundaries between religious organizations and state power were drawn. #BAPS #India #France 🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen 🔴 LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN 🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/ Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen