BAPS Mandir Vandalism Draws Mayor and Consulate to Greenwood; Temple Housing Project Planned
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Greenwood, Indiana, became a focal point for community solidarity after its signboard was defaced with pro-Khalistan, anti-India graffiti — the fourth such attack on a BAPS temple in the United States since September 2023. Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers and representatives from the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council joined Hindu worshippers for an interfaith prayers-for-peace gathering on August 12, 2025, while India's Consul General in Chicago met with local community leaders and called for law enforcement action. Separately, plans are in place for a 51-home residential development on Greenwood's south side that will include a Hindu temple and community centre, reflecting the growing footprint of South Asian institutions in the city.
🪔 Pro-Khalistan Graffiti Defaces BAPS Greenwood Temple in Fourth US Hindu Hate Attack Since 2023
A Hindu temple belonging to the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) in Greenwood, Indiana, was desecrated by vandals who defaced its walls with anti-India and anti-Prime Minister Narendra Modi graffiti, in what the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) identified as the fourth such attack on Hindu places of worship in the United States since September 2023, Gulf News reported. HAF shared video footage of the vandalism on X, formerly Twitter, urging elected officials to move beyond empty condemnations and take decisive action. The Foundation posted: "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." The Consulate General of India in Chicago called the desecration of the temple's main signboard "reprehensible" and said it had raised the matter with law enforcement for prompt action. Consul General Somnath Ghosh met with devotees, community leaders, and the Mayor of Greenwood, urging unity, solidarity, and vigilance against what he called "miscreants." The Greenwood attack is the latest in a pattern spanning multiple US states: in September 2023 the BAPS temple in Melville, New York, was targeted; days later a temple near Sacramento was attacked; in December the BAPS temple in Newark, California, was vandalised; and in March 2024 a Southern California temple was defaced with anti-Hindu slogans. [4]
🤝 Greenwood Mayor and Jewish Community Leaders Stand With BAPS Congregation at Peace Prayers
The day after the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir's signboard was vandalized in Greenwood, the temple hosted a "Prayers for peace" gathering that drew civic and interfaith voices from well beyond the Hindu congregation, IndyStar reported. Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers addressed the assembled community on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, offering the city's official expression of solidarity with the affected community. Yaniv Shmukler, the Director of Community Engagement at the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council, also spoke to the gathered crowd — a visible signal that the Jewish community of Indianapolis stood alongside its Hindu neighbours in the face of what was broadly understood as a hate-motivated act. Community members came together for a collective prayer as the congregation processed both the shock of finding their temple defaced and the outpouring of support from the wider Greenwood and Indianapolis community. The gathering demonstrated the strength of interfaith and civic ties in Greenwood, where elected officials and leaders of other faith traditions mobilised in person within twenty-four hours to express solidarity with the BAPS community and affirm that hate-motivated attacks on places of worship were unacceptable. [3]
🏢 51-Home South Side Development to Feature Hindu Temple and Community Centre
A 51-home residential development has been planned for Greenwood's south side that will incorporate a Hindu temple and community centre as part of the project, the Daily Journal reported. The proposal reflects the growing presence of South Asian and Hindu community institutions in Greenwood, a city in Johnson County, Indiana, that has seen a steady increase in its South Asian population in recent years. Combining private housing with a dedicated temple and community centre allows the community to establish permanent religious and social infrastructure alongside residential neighbourhoods, giving worshippers and families a local hub without requiring long drives to Indianapolis or other larger cities. The scale of the project — 51 homes alongside dedicated civic and religious spaces — represents a significant investment that would create one of the more visible markers of the South Asian community's establishment in the Greenwood area. If realised as planned, the development would strengthen the community's long-term roots on the city's south side and provide a gathering place for Hindu residents across the broader region. [1]
Sources: [4] Gulf News · [3] IndyStar · [1] dailyjournal.net