Modi met BAPS representatives 18 times in 12 years: The Wire

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met BAPS Swaminarayan representatives or attended the sect's events at least 18 times in the last 12 years, The Wire reported, citing archives maintained by BAPS and the Prime Minister's Office. The meetings took place in India as well as in France and South Africa. Assets of BAPS non-profits in the US grew from $10 million in 2014 to $52 million in 2024, the 'Behind BAPS' report said. BAPS did not respond to a request for comment.

Written by AI from Narendra Modi · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 21 Sept 2026, 2:28 pm IST

Source

Narendra Modi · read the original report ↗

#baps#narendra modi#religion#swaminarayan#the wire

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

Modi met BAPS representatives or attended BAPS events at least 18 times in the last 12 years. — Attributed to The Wire's review of BAPS and Prime Minister's Office archives; figure appears in source.
A BAPS delegation asked on September 5 that female workers at the Eiffel Tower be replaced by men. — Stated in source as fact without a named source document; BAPS response not received.
Assets of BAPS non-profits in the US rose from $10 million in 2014 to $52 million in 2024. — Attributed to the report 'Behind BAPS' compiled by US civil society organisations.
In 2021 the FBI raided a New Jersey BAPS temple site and removed about 90 workers amid forced-labour allegations; the investigation was closed in September last year. — Attributed to a class action lawsuit and reported actions; allegations remain unproven in source.
Between July and August 2023, Modi met BAPS monks three times in three countries. — Source lists specific dates and venues (France, India, Johannesburg); internally consistent.

Written by AI from Narendra Modi · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

This is less a story about spiritual affinity and more about political arithmetic: The Wire's account suggests a sustained relationship that carries clear electoral and diplomatic utility. BAPS's strong association with the Patidar community — the backbone of the BJP's Gujarat vote base — and the timing of the 2017 Akshardham event weeks before the state polls illustrate how a faith network can function as a political resource. Equally telling is the silence on the controversies, which looks like a low-cost political choice at a moment when there is little organised pressure forcing a response.

The significance lies less in the figure of 18 meetings than in their regularity, including on foreign visits, suggesting the relationship has become part of India's soft-power and diaspora outreach.
BAPS's largely Patidar social base gives weight to the argument that the sect helped the BJP steady a crucial community at a time of Patidar agitation.
Temple networks abroad and visits by serving world leaders reinforce a civilisational framing in which 'India' and 'Hindu' blur, as one analyst in the story argues — though the same analyst explicitly says BAPS should not be treated as part of the Sangh Parivar.
The absence of any government comment on the Dalit-entry history and the removal of women from stages hands the opposition a social-justice opening, but the story offers no evidence that rivals are willing to take on a popular religious institution.
BAPS hosting the government's youth outreach after a phase of youth unrest points to a wider pattern of religious organisations serving as mobilisation infrastructure.

What to watch — Watch whether BAPS venues are used more heavily as platforms for government messaging ahead of the next election cycle, particularly in Gujarat, and whether opposition parties choose to raise the Dalit and women-related allegations politically.

The report shows meetings and asset growth occurring in the same period but does not establish any causal link or improper benefit, and BAPS has not yet responded to the request for comment.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 10 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a Gujarat-based Hindu sect founded in 1907, has faced criticism over practices excluding women and, historically, Dalits, and over forced-labour allegations at a US temple. The Wire, using archives kept by BAPS and the Prime Minister's Office, reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi met BAPS representatives or attended its events at least 18 times in the last 12 years, in India, France and South Africa. The report follows a September 5 controversy in which a BAPS delegation asked that female workers at Paris's Eiffel Tower be replaced by men, days before Modi addressed the sect's new Paris temple inauguration via a giant screen. The article also documents a five-fold rise in the assets of BAPS non-profits in the US since 2014.

Key facts

The Wire, using BAPS and PMO archives, found Modi met BAPS representatives or attended BAPS events at least 18 times in the last 12 years.
Assets of BAPS non-profits in the US rose five-fold from $10 million in 2014 to $52 million in 2024, per the 'Behind BAPS' report by US civil society organisations.
Between 2010 and 2014 BAPS US assets stayed between $9 million and $10 million; they then rose 84% from $10 million (2014) to $18.4 million (2020).
On September 5, a BAPS delegation at Paris's Eiffel Tower asked that female workers be replaced by men; within 24 hours Modi appeared on screen at the new Paris temple inauguration.
Between July and August 2023 Modi met BAPS monks three times in two months in three countries: France, India (Swami Brahmaviharidas on the Abu Dhabi temple) and Johannesburg during the BRICS Summit.
The sect sued against the Bombay Harijan Temple Entry Act, 1947, arguing it was 'distinct and different' from Hinduism; the Supreme Court rejected the appeal in 1966.
In 2021 the FBI raided the New Jersey BAPS temple construction site and removed about 90 workers; a class action alleged nearly 200 Dalit and Adivasi workers worked 12.5 hours a day, seven days a week, for $1.20 an hour.
Since Modi came to power at least 10 serving world leaders, including JD Vance, Justin Trudeau, Jair Bolsonaro, Moon Jae-in and Boris Johnson, visited BAPS temples in India on official visits.

Timeline

1907BAPS Swaminarayan sect founded in a village in Gujarat.
April 1947Sardar Patel remarks that the Bochasan Maharaj admitted he had no courage to allow Dalits inside the temple.
1948The sect's suit against the Bombay Harijan Temple Entry Act, 1947 begins.
1966Supreme Court rejects the sect's appeal, saying social justice is the main foundation of the democratic way of life under the Constitution.
1991Pramukh Swami Maharaj makes half a dozen calls to Modi during the BJP's Ekta Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, as recalled by Modi.
2015Malayalam publisher of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's last book asks its female translator not to be on the dais at the insistence of BAPS monk Swami Brahmavihari Das.
2017Modi takes Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull to Akshardham Temple, New Delhi; BAPS hosts Modi at Gandhinagar Akshardham's silver jubilee weeks before the Gujarat assembly polls.
July-August 2023Modi meets BAPS monks three times in France, India and Johannesburg (BRICS Summit).
2023Modi sends a message for the New Jersey temple inauguration, calling it 'an occasion of profound spiritual significance'.
2024Women attendees at an ICAI conference in Kolkata asked to leave front rows and backstage before BAPS monk Swami Gyanvatsal's session.

Who has a stake

Prime Minister Narendra Modi — Reported 18 meetings/events with BAPS in 12 years; his silence on the sect's discriminatory practices is the focus of the story.
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha — Faces allegations of excluding women and Dalits and of forced labour; gains political access, global profile and fast-growing assets. Did not respond to The Wire's request for comment.
Dalit and Adivasi workers — Class action alleged nearly 200 were brought from India, passports confiscated, paid $1.20 an hour; one worker allegedly died during construction.
Women at BAPS events — Asked to be out of sight of monks - at the Eiffel Tower, the Kalam book launch (2015) and the ICAI Kolkata conference (2024).
BJP and the Patidar community — Aakar Patel says the sect is primarily a Patel sect linked to the BJP's Gujarat vote base; BAPS hosted Modi amid Patidar OBC-quota anger before the 2017 polls.
US agencies (FBI, Department of Justice) — FBI raided the New Jersey site in 2021; the DoJ under Trump closed the investigation in September last year.
Government of India's youth outreach — BAPS hosted 'Nasha-Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat' events in New Delhi and Gandhinagar temples, with Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat attending the Delhi event.

Why it matters

The story documents how a religious organisation's access to the highest political office coincided with a five-fold rise in its assets abroad and a steady stream of visiting heads of government to its temples, even as allegations of caste and gender exclusion and forced labour went unaddressed. It raises questions about the blurring of the line between state diplomacy and religious institutions, and about accountability when a sect enjoys political patronage. For readers, it is a case study in how soft power, diaspora institutions and domestic vote-bank politics intersect.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha was founded in 1907 in a village in Gujarat; followers take five lifetime vows (no alcohol, addictions, adultery, meat, impurity).
Bombay Harijan Temple Entry Act, 1947 ended untouchability-based exclusion in Hindu and Jain temples; the sect's challenge was rejected by the Supreme Court in 1966.
The 1966 Supreme Court order held that social justice is the main foundation of the democratic way of life enshrined in the Constitution.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the longest-serving president of the BAPS sect; he died a year before the 2017 Gandhinagar Akshardham silver jubilee.
'Behind BAPS' is a report compiled by civil society organisations in the US on the sect's finances.
'Seeing The Sangh', a dataset housed by CERI-Sciences Po, Paris and published by The Caravan, links BAPS 'conclusively' to the Sangh via funding, hosted talks and co-hosted events.

Mains framing

The BAPS story illustrates how religious organisations can become vehicles of both diplomatic soft power and domestic electoral consolidation. The Wire's count of at least 18 Modi-BAPS interactions in 12 years, the routing of at least 10 visiting world leaders through BAPS temples, and the five-fold growth of the sect's US assets from $10 million (2014) to $52 million (2024) point to a mutually reinforcing relationship: the state lends legitimacy and visibility, while the sect mobilises followers, hosts government programmes such as 'Nasha-Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat' and, as Aakar Patel argues, anchors the BJP's Patidar base in Gujarat. The costs, however, fall on those excluded - the sect's historical litigation against the Bombay Harijan Temple Entry Act, 1947, rejected by the Supreme Court in 1966 in the name of social justice; repeated instances of women being moved out of sight of monks; and the 2021 FBI raid and class action alleging forced labour of Dalit and Adivasi workers at $1.20 an hour. Scholar Chetan Bhatt argues such spectacles erase the distinction between 'India' and 'Hindu', while noting BAPS is not formally part of the Sangh Parivar. The way forward, as the source implies rather than prescribes, lies in constitutional accountability: officials distancing the state from discriminatory practice, transparency in the finances of religious non-profits, and independent inquiry into labour and exclusion complaints.

Key terms

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha: Hindu sect founded in Gujarat in 1907, self-described as a spiritual, volunteer-driven fellowship claiming over a million followers worldwide.
Bombay Harijan Temple Entry Act, 1947: Law ending untouchability and exclusion in Hindu and Jain temples by guaranteeing equal worship rights to Dalits; challenged by the sect from 1948.
'Behind BAPS' report: Report by US civil society organisations tracking the assets of BAPS non-profits in the United States.
'Seeing The Sangh': Dataset mapping the Sangh and its global affiliates, housed at CERI-Sciences Po, Paris and published by The Caravan.
Patidar OBC demand: Two-year agitation by Gujarat's Patidar community for Other Backward Class status, seen as a threat to the BJP before the 2017 assembly polls.
Nasha-Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat: Government youth outreach programme hosted at BAPS temples in New Delhi and Gandhinagar after the GenZ protests.

Practice questions

Examine how the patronage of religious organisations by political executives affects the constitutional commitment to social justice and non-discrimination, with reference to the BAPS case.
Diaspora religious institutions are increasingly used as instruments of India's cultural diplomacy. Discuss the opportunities and the accountability risks this creates.
The Supreme Court in 1966 held that social justice is the foundation of India's democratic way of life. Evaluate the continuing relevance of temple-entry jurisprudence to caste and gender exclusion today.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

Next storyBJP, Yogi Adityanath criticise Hamid Ansari over Hindu nationalism remarks →

← All stories