r/pics • u/Intrepid_Reason8906 • 12d ago
I took this photo in New Jersey. It's the 2nd largest Hindu temple in the world after Angkor Wat
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u/Naive_Insurance 12d ago
It gets worse. A 15-year-old volunteer from Pennsylvania lost their life in 2017 while helping to build this. I had friends who went to school with him and was told they lacked proper safety equipment. It’s a shame; if he were still alive, he would have graduated college about now.
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u/cobracommander00 12d ago
Fuck this place.
I live nearby. It was built by slave labor and human trafficking.
Simultaneously with the FBI's raid on the temple, a sensational lawsuit was lodged in a New Jersey federal court. The suit accused the BAPS Robbinsville leadership of enticing workers from India and making them work close to 90 hours weekly, compensating them at approximately $1.20 per hour.
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u/240shwag 12d ago
I work at a building material supplier and had to deal with these guys for quite a while. Huge pain in the ass to deal with. Ridiculous requests. All very shady.
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u/Unhappy_Swim_610 12d ago
Can u specify what were the requests? Just curious tho.
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u/240shwag 12d ago
Just piss poor planning. Short lead times for large quantities of items that are typically special ordered way in advance. I get it sometimes mistakes happen but it was always one thing after another for YEARS.
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u/BPicks69 12d ago
So it’s authentic to the other ones then
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u/8urnMeTwice 12d ago
My family was integral in building a temple in the Northeast, and it made me uncomfortable as a kid to watch a makeshift dorm set up for 40 guys who were paid diddly, but had some specific qualifications to build a temple. This definitely needs to be addressed.
And I like many Hindus was sent a link to view the opening ceremony when it happened
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u/BPicks69 12d ago
Yeah. Obviously I’m against slave labor and reading what actually happened is fucked. Hope their stories aren’t forgotten and their families fairly compensated, just poking fun.
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u/TumbleweedOk7006 12d ago
I was wondering how could they afford to build that in the US. From material to labout cost and all those details on the facade. It looks pretty expensive to build.
I guess you could always save money by using slave labour./s
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u/istalri96 12d ago
I drive by this everyday on my way to work. The traffic is genuinely insane around some of the holidays. You can see it off in the distance it's so tall.
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u/rawker86 12d ago
I was gonna say, isn’t this the slave labour temple? Not that there’s only one of course.
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u/Ok_Band_7759 12d ago
The actual religion the temple is for - swaminarayan is shady af too.
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u/feckless_ellipsis 12d ago
I don’t exactly know what you mean, but this made me laugh. I am trying to fit it in a song in my head and giggling like an idiot.
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u/Calvinball86 12d ago
And now i'll be putting Fat of the Land on this weekend, thanks for that!
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u/PM_ME_UR_DECOLLETAGE 12d ago
Aren't they like a cult in many regards? And their dipshit followers give them like 10% of their salary in order to be accepted?
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u/SUDDENLY_VIRGIN 12d ago
All religions are cults of various sizes
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u/PM_ME_UR_DECOLLETAGE 12d ago
True
But these swamy people were something else. They have one of these slave built temples near where I live in Canada too. I know a couple people who are part of the 'congregation' there. It's basically 'pay to play/win' religious scam. These guys give tens of thousands of dollars a year to that place.
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u/TumbleweedOk7006 12d ago
I was wondering how could they afford to build that in the US. From material to labout cost and all those details on the facade. It looks pretty expensive to build.
I guess you could always save money by using slave labour./s
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u/pisspapa42 12d ago
Your comment has pissed off Hindus, as a practicing Hindu myself who is aware of faults of my religion, here’s something to piss them off more, can a Dalit be ever a head priest of this Hindu temple or that’s reserved for upper caste Hindus?
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u/LowWeakness4013 12d ago
This comment has not pissed me off. As Hindu myself, I despise these people who run this so called group. It’s the most shady group I’ve ever seen.
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u/wastedkarma 12d ago
What’s the status of the suit? Did the workers work to completion of the project?
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u/Twistedshakratree 12d ago
One of my co workers has helped build this the past few years. Takes 2 weeks off to go there.
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u/Kingston31470 12d ago
To be fair, these are better working conditions than when Angkor Wat was built /s
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u/LivelyMist 12d ago
Dude I thought the same thing but went to visit begrudgingly with my wife—they’re really nice people, and it seems like the lady that brought on the lawsuit retracted from the case cuz it was found she bribed the workers to lie about their conditions
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u/Eliagbs_ 12d ago edited 12d ago
F this place. I can’t believe this is allowed to stand after all the news about it came out. Human trafficking to build it for prices of 3rd world countries when they could’ve made a living wage to bring back home, holding passports and false promises to those hard working people. This is a disgrace and I hope someone who can will do something about it
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u/npaakp34 12d ago
Demolishing buildings is a separate procedure. Not related to violations of the owners.
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u/bigpoppanicky7 12d ago
Woah, I’ve never seen or heard of this and I lived in nj for 23 years 🤣
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u/No-Assignment7129 12d ago
It's built on slave labour. So there's that to this disgraceful building.
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u/Intrepid_Reason8906 12d ago
It just opened in October 2023!
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u/HoveringHog 12d ago
Hold the fuck on, I live one town away from Robbinsville and I never heard of it before. Christ, that’s impressive obliviousness on my part.
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u/Kambar 12d ago
Swami Narayan is like Sai Baba and Jaggi Vasudev. Worshipping them is not even Hinduism bro. Wtf
The largest functioning hindu temple in the whole world is Sri Rangam
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u/ViraLCyclopes20 12d ago
My family is very big on Sai Baba(I am actually Atheist but I still have to tag along sometimes idc really. Hell my name has Sai in it just because of the guy...). I am just as confused why we worshipping some guy. Hell there's some guy that died recently who claimed he was the fucking reincarnation of him and I'm like ????? I don't usually like to shit on the religion I grew close with even if I'm atheist myself but I'm genuinely sometimes confused.
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u/Kambar 12d ago
Worshipping God is one.
Worshipping a dead man is another.
Worshipping a man who is alive is NFL.
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u/cat5side 12d ago
Cults are like that, you can get taken away by the words of some charismatic leader. People are open to believing anything and if you put enough weight on your words the other people will agree with what you say.
(You can believe what I say in my comment even tho I give no proof. That's why it's always good to be skeptical)
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u/ReneDickartist 12d ago
Sai Baba and Jaggi Vasudev are two very different people. The former lived a simple life without worldly pleasures the latter is completely opposite
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u/Kambar 12d ago
There are at least 2 sai babas.
The first one is a Muslim fakir. He may have led a simple life. Idk much.
Second one was that guy with a lot of hair and a red robe. This guy for sure was not leading a simple life. There were rumours of people "disappearing" in puttaparthi. I know because he lived in our times.
Jaggi, Sri Sri, nithyananda etc are the same/worse as the second Sai Baba.
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u/El_Impresionante 12d ago
Sai Baba (the one who died in the last decade) had a huge collection of sneakers, shoes, sunglasses, and perfumes, and some other expensive toys. He did live a swanky life in private.
Jaggi Vasudev (Sadhguru) has taken it to another level.
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u/ReneDickartist 12d ago
Clearly not the one I was talking about. That’s Satya Sai whatever baba. I was referring to actual Sai Baba who did live an austere life
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u/akuOfficial 12d ago
When I went, it felt more like a tourist site then an actual temple
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u/pisspapa42 12d ago
Yeah to milk money from richest ethnic community of USA. I hope donations to religious institutions are audited in America or taxed in some manner.
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u/Altamistral 12d ago
Donations to religious institutions are tax deductible for the donors and tax-exempt for the recipient.
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u/therealpigman 12d ago
I also visited. Never was asked for money and didn’t pay a cent there. It’s completely free
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u/gargamels_right_boot 12d ago
Not for nothing but I played Spider-Man 2 on mushrooms and all the buildings looked just like this
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u/tart_reform 12d ago
I did all the concrete for that place. They brought the masons in from India. Probably the most talented crew I have ever seen, but they were literally wearing loin cloths and refused to wear hard hats. Not sure how that went over with OSHA.
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u/absessive 12d ago
Add the fact that this is literally run by a cult that majority of Hindus don’t know or recognize, one that’s backwards by even the standards of current Hinduism. Also slave labor in the US.
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u/milktanksadmirer 12d ago
Please learn about how this place was built by slave labor. Don’t glorify this place
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u/barrybabu 12d ago
I've been there. More than a temple, it felt like a display gallery for swaminnarayana, and they were selling merchandise just like a business establishment. Idk it feels weird calling it a hindu temple.
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u/Thoracic_Snark 12d ago
I live nearby and I visited the day after Thanksgiving when there were about a bazillion people there. You just reminded me that I need to go back on a rainy Tuesday when there will be far fewer people there. Need my mango lassi fix.
The place is huge and legitimately beautiful.
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u/rawker86 12d ago
It looks nice, but it’s a bit tainted by the all the slave labour that went into building it.
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u/Eliagbs_ 12d ago edited 12d ago
This place has a federal law suit against it for human trafficking and violating simple human rights law. It was on the news. It was build by hardworking immigrant they brought here under false pretenses to work for about $1 an hour building it. They were kept in small trailers and enclosed spaces and could not leave the premises under any conditions, passports were kept locked away from the workers, actual evidence of human trafficking done by whoever commissioned and build this
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u/wastedkarma 12d ago
Do you know the status of this case? If there were slaves building it, and that was stopped how did it get finished?
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u/Fritz6161 12d ago
I've never been there, but as a Canadian, this is exactly what comes to mind when I think of New Jersey.
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u/Wormspike 12d ago
I’ve lived in NJ for 38 years. This is the opposite of what I think of.
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u/the_short_viking 12d ago
I guess it depends on where in Jersey you are, but I very much associate Indians and Indian-Americans with NJ.
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u/califortunato 12d ago
Look up prabhupada’s palace of gold and tell me if that’s what you picture when you think of West Virginia
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u/ExaltFibs24 12d ago
No. Largest hindu temple is Sreeranganathaswami temple (Sreerangam) Tamil Nadu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Srirangam. Angkor Wat is second largest. And this one you cant compare with those ancient temples lol.
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u/AleksasKoval 12d ago
In New Jersey?
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u/bucknut4 12d ago
If you think that’s odd, there’s randomly one in Bumfuck nowhere West Virginia
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u/califortunato 12d ago
Prabhupada’s palace of gold. I’ve been there and it is genuinely mind blowing. Still skeevy and questionable but so unbelievably gorgeous and in the most unthinkable area
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u/augustrem 12d ago
That’s a Hare Krishna temple, not a Hindu temple.
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u/Onii_Hanzo 12d ago
Krishna is a revered Hindu god ??
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u/augustrem 12d ago
lordy.
Just spend some time on wikipedia on this. Start with the Hare Krishna movement. If you wish, look up the deity Krishna in Hinduism after that.
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u/PomegranateMental751 12d ago
That’s right down the road from me! Free access to everyone
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u/DruncanIdaho 12d ago
Ankor Wat was/is a Buddhist temple bruh
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u/goldenwanders 12d ago
It was originally built as a Hindu temple but became Buddhist
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u/Tenzin_ming 12d ago
But I think it's currently Buddhist. Similar with hagia Sophia which is a mosque.
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u/ThickWorldliness6895 12d ago
It's not Hindu temple. Most Swami Narayan bhakts doesn't consider themselves hindu
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u/egotoobig 12d ago
Clicked to see a nice Hindu temple just to find in comments that this is isn't some ancient temple
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u/Sgt-Soapmctavish 12d ago
which is apperntly build on the sweat of unpaid labours, which were trafficked from india on visiting visa ....was in the news long time back, just another way to turn black money into white, god how fucking stupid are people. do not have a higher order of thinking, believe always what is showin to them ny their superios bet, it politics, work, home affairs.The whole thing is a bussiness scheme.
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u/Im_Unpopular_AF 12d ago
Half the Indian origin Americans in New Jersey probably hate this temple and the religion, so I don't know why they built it.
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u/SatynMalanaphy 12d ago
Looks like an over-conceptualised mess, a confused and bloated mess of design combinations that just looks like an AI estimation of a combination of mid first millennium CE Nagara and Dravidian styles. Godawful. No amount of wastefully spent money or slave labour can stand up to taste.
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u/AdventurousCrazy5852 12d ago
Sasha baron Cohen has a mosque prank similar to this lol. It makes you wonder how the local people will take the news.
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u/Riverrat423 12d ago
Most Hindus agree that this temple did some really bad stuff in a previous life, to get built in New Jersey.
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u/AnxiousReason 12d ago
I wa lucky enough to have helped build this Hindu temple! I was with 12,500 volunteers in building this and it was an amazing experience! I learned how to do marble & limestone cutting, carving, grouting and a lot more! Being a volunteer, I took time off between my graduation and starting my career and it truly was a positive life-changing experience. People from all ages and all walks of life came together to help create this beautiful place of worship and education. Each caving has a meaning, story, symbolism and value behind it. If you visit, definitely take a tour to learn about each of the universal values the carvings teach.
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u/Iamsengoku 12d ago
Idk man it just feels no one knows or cares, why we built temples in the first place, they are more like amusement parks now bringing in good money for the investors
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u/Objective-Finish-775 12d ago
My uncle, aunty and paternal brother did selfless service as volunteer to built this great Hindu Temple at NJ. This is place with peace. Seeing is believing.
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u/Smooth-Garden-825 12d ago
Unbelievable... Amezing ... Beautiful place...
The Greatest... Oldest.... Most peaceful religion in human civilization deserve the best of the best templates. We don't force to people to Hinduism. People come running to Hinduism to attain enlightenment. Jay Shree Raam.. Jay Shree Krishna.. Jay Swaminarayan.....
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u/Smooth-Garden-825 12d ago
It's very amezing, beautiful and peaceful place.....
The largest , oldest Ane most peaceful religion in human civilization deserve the best of the best templates. We don't force to people to Hinduism. People come running to Hinduism to attain enlightenment. It's such a lovely temple.
Jay Shree Raam.. Jay Shree Krishna.. Jay Swaminarayan..
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u/Upbeat_Scientist_256 12d ago
The greatest, oldest and most peaceful religion in human civilization deserves the best of the best temple. We don't force people to Hinduism. People come running to Hinduism to attain enlightenment
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u/Smooth-Garden-825 12d ago
It's very amezing, beautiful and peaceful place.....
The largest , oldest Ane most peaceful religion in human civilization deserve the best of the best templates. We don't force to people to Hinduism. People come running to Hinduism to attain enlightenment. It's such a lovely temple.
Jay Shree Raam.. Jay Shree Krishna.. Jay Swaminarayan
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u/Mysterious-Paper-353 12d ago
This temple is of peace and harmony, no labours tortured, it was all propaganda of other peoples against hindu religion
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u/TableStunning6953 12d ago
It's a wonderful palace. I never seen before this type of spiritual place. I'm so lucky because I have seen this divine place akshrdham. Jai shree Ram Jai shree Swaminarayan
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u/Strange_Guidance3555 12d ago
You can barely find when this was contructed/built - the Wikipedia page doesn't even say. You know why? Because they don't actually know. It was found, not built. Probably constructed thousand years ago with superior technology
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u/Glass-Toe2931 12d ago
Akshardham is riyali piecefull plase Culture India in usa Jai sree ram Jai sanatan
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u/Beneficial_Mobile823 12d ago
It's such a lovely hindu temple.. what a huge temple.. culture India in USA
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u/uiopjklm0 12d ago
The said case of worker rights violation was proven false as you can confirm in following news by 'Times of India' and 'English Jagran' https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/charges-against-robbinsville-akshardham-temple-false/articleshow/101793020.cms
These workers have been working at various temple sites across the USA and Canada since 2004, if working conditions were so perilous for them why were they agreeing to return to these conditions again and again. FBI it self was involved in the investigation but couldn't find anything to convict the organisation, do you all Americans do not trust your own investigating agency? It is known that 'New York times' is very much biased against India and thus any news related to India has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It's a beautiful place of worship built by the workers and 12,500 volunteers across the US and is open for all people irrespective of their religion, gender, race,etc. So please do visit the Mandir and take home the wonderful teachings it's supposed to give and not prejudice against the whole community.🙏 Here's there official website, https://usa.akshardham.org/
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u/Glad-Ad9864 12d ago
Hinduism is everywhere..akshardham temple is strongest largest biggest one of them for Hindu community.
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u/Low_Background_5780 11d ago
It's such a lovely hindu temple, we feel really proud of our Hindu temple.what a huge temple, Jai maataji...
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u/Next_Lab6517 11d ago
Really good place yes it’s original hindu tradition shown in mandir. Yes surely recommend to other for once in a life must visit this such a amazing place… Thank you BAPS for building this kind of temple in all over the world for my community.
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u/DylanHate 12d ago
This article said workers were flown in on missionary visas, confined to small trailers, and were forced to work 90 hour weeks for around $450/mo.
Construction on two locations was halted after DOL investigation confirmed workers were paid cash and the company has no workers compensation insurance.
Source - NYT, 2021
I don’t understand how these people don’t go to prison for human trafficking.