A temple theft scandal has hit India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), perhaps where it hurts them the most. Devotees’ donations worth millions of dollars have allegedly gone missing from Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, the crowning glory of their Hindu nationalist project.
The grand temple, one of India’s most symbolically significant religious sites, has been built at a cost of approximately 19 billion Indian rupees ($210 million).
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not yet established the final amount allegedly stolen. Estimates circulating in political statements and media reports range from $21 million to $73.3 million, which differ substantially from the $0.2-0.3 million cited in police investigations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is already battling myriad scandals in the education sector. But the scam involving the Ayodhya Temple is special. It involves India’s most politically sensitive religious project. It involves organizations belonging to the Sangh Parivar, a family of Hindutva organizations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological-organizational parent.
Modi inaugurated the newly built temple on January 22, 2024. He was present at the consecration of the temple as the mukhya yajman or chief devotee, with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat seated next to him.
