Eiffel Tower row exposes BAPS Hindu group as 'spearhead of Modi's soft power'

The controversy began after around 100 people linked to BAPS – the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha – made a private visit to the Eiffel Tower on Saturday.

Female employees were asked to leave their workstations as the delegation passed so that men could take their places, a staff representative said. Employees protested on Monday, temporarily closing the monument.

Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire announced an investigation, and the Eiffel Tower reopened on Tuesday.

BAPS denied making a gender-based request and apologised for any hurt or inconvenience caused.

The visit came a day before BAPS inaugurated a large new temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges, east of Paris. Modi joined the inauguration by video link.

The movement has a relatively small following within Hinduism but a large international network, particularly among the Gujarati diaspora – people from the western Indian state of Gujarat.

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India specialist Christophe Jaffrelot, a research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), told RFI about BAPS's growing role in Modi's push to project Indian influence abroad.

RFI: BAPS is accused of promoting an ultra-conservative vision of society. Where does the movement come from and what does it represent today?

Christophe Jaffrelot: It is first and foremost an organisation from Gujarat, where it was founded in the early 20th century and which remains its stronghold. In India, there are very few BAPS temples outside Gujarat. There is one in New Delhi, the capital, which serves somewhat as a showcase, but that's about it.

However, Gujaratis have spread around the world and make up the largest Indian diaspora, so there are BAPS temples everywhere – from southern Africa to Canada, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. That is where you find the major BAPS temples.

In terms of numbers, BAPS represents relatively few people. The vast majority of Hindus do not follow the movement. But its closeness to India's political elite makes all the difference today. Its followers may not be very numerous, but they are highly influential.

RFI: Does BAPS's conservative vision of society align with Modi's Hindu nationalism?

CJ: Modi, who comes from Gujarat, has had close relations with BAPS for 40 years. BAPS priests endorsed and legitimised him when he came to power in 2014. Modi subsequently defended and protected them.

When the 2001 earthquake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes in Gujarat, he became the state's chief minister and relied on the movement for reconstruction. BAPS is very wealthy and rebuilt in its own way, putting its temples at the centre of villages and ensuring that Dalits, formerly known as “untouchables”, and Muslims were excluded.

It is a mutually beneficial relationship. Modi receives religious blessing and legitimacy, while these religious figures strengthen their position in Gujarati society thanks to his support.

Modi has used this movement as a representative of Hinduism for his soft-power policy. BAPS is the spearhead of that policy, which is why he personally inaugurates BAPS temples around the world. Modi travelled to Abu Dhabi to do so in 2024. For the French temple, he participated by video link, but he still took part. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, centre, after inaugurating the first BAPS Hindu temple in the Middle East, at Abu Mureikha, 40 kilometres north-east of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, on 14 February 2024.

There is a kind of promotion of Gujarat as a nation of Hinduism, particularly among the diaspora, backed by the Indian state. We also saw the very strong involvement of the Indian embassy in Paris in the Bussy-Saint-Georges temple. It followed the construction work throughout. India's ambassador to Unesco, who is also based in Paris, was involved at every stage of the project.

So we have a community that is small in demographic terms but politically influential, and that can be seen through India's international activities.

RFI: Mixing religion and politics is nothing new in India, particularly with Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. Can BAPS also be considered a political weapon?

CJ: It aims to be a political weapon in terms of influence. We have seen this more dramatically elsewhere, in the UK and the US. BAPS temples are places where American and British government officials are invited. King Charles III himself was invited six months ago to the largest temple in England, north of London.

It is a way of showing political elites in host countries that Hinduism has a form of soft power, that it represents a civilisation that should be recognised and cultivated. That is what BAPS is seeking above all.

Why was such a huge temple needed in Paris, where there are so few Hindus? Because it is a symbol. It shows that even there, Hinduism can plant a kind of flag. And why go to the Eiffel Tower, which has nothing to do with religion? Precisely because it is a symbol – a trophy to be won.

So it is effectively a kind of armed wing of a policy of cultural and civilisational expansion. Both the Indian government and BAPS talk constantly about Hindu civilisation.

RFI: The Eiffel Tower incident appears to have caused some embarrassment for BAPS and the Indian government. What impact could it have?

CJ: In India, it has received a lot of attention among the few remaining independent media outlets. It has attracted considerable attention within what is still a limited ecosystem. But the major Indian newspapers have also reported the incident, as have online media. It will not go any further than that in India.

The problem is more significant internationally. This affair has received considerable attention in the UK, in Germany, where temples are being built, and in Australia.

Everywhere, there is growing unease over this diaspora, which does not integrate, which increasingly seeks to assert the superiority of Hinduism as a civilisation, which rejects regulations concerning caste discrimination and which also opposes realistic descriptions of India in history or social science textbooks.

So tensions are growing. And this affair has received even greater media attention in countries with large Hindu diasporas where that unease is mounting.

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RFI: In the UK, which has a large Indian community, could BAPS pose a threat to society similar to that associated with political Islam in the 2000s?

CJ: Yes. The British were shocked when riots between Hindus and Muslims broke out in the English city of Leicester in 2022 following a cricket match between India and Pakistan. At that point, it became clear that on both sides – among the Muslim minority and the Hindu minority – people were organising and arming themselves, and investigations are still underway.

This is where influence plays an essential role. The Hindu nationalist movement has acquired such influence over British political power that the investigations are making little progress. And that is one of the major issues in all these cases – how far can this movement neutralise the rule of law?

It is one of the major issues France should pay attention to, because the question arises here too. How was the construction of a temple of this kind authorised in the country of laïcité, the French principle of secularism? What kind of chain of command are we dealing with?

RFI: Given their economic and strategic ties with India, how difficult is it for countries to confront BAPS directly? How should France and other countries respond?

CJ: We need to protect ourselves against this kind of attempt to gain influence from within and apply French laws, which require the separation of religion and politics. In French society, religion belongs in the private sphere. With the construction of this temple, we therefore find ourselves in a fairly unprecedented situation, with political figures approving a religious operation conducted by a foreign state.

Perhaps an investigation should have been carried out beforehand. It is common knowledge that BAPS priests cannot associate with women. That is the rule. So the fact that this issue emerged through an incident at the Eiffel Tower and created the problem we now know about nevertheless reflects a lack of preparation.

There is another issue that explains the size of the temple near Paris – its proximity to Disneyland. The objective is fairly clear. When Indian tourists visit Europe and can afford it, they generally make a point of going to Disneyland. Well, now they will also make a detour to the Bussy-Saint-Georges temple.

RFI: Is BAPS and its vision gaining ground in India and abroad?

CJ: Yes, it is a movement that is gaining momentum because it is very close to those in power in India. One example illustrates this. In 2024, Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple in Ayodhya, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, built on the ruins of a mosque that Hindu nationalists destroyed in 1992.

The architectural model for this temple is that of the BAPS movement. The Narayan [BAPS] model is becoming, in a sense, the standard that embodies Hinduism.

BAPS is seeking to position itself as the representative of Hinduism, even though it is a very small strand of the religion. It wants to become the reference point. You can see this nationally in India.

Internationally, it is clearly expanding as Gujaratis gain social and economic influence in different countries. One example among many is that American motel chains are principally controlled by Gujaratis who, in large part, are members of BAPS.

This article is based on an interview in French by Christophe Drevet.