India Has Lodged Complaint with US: Jaishankar on Graffiti Sprayed on Hindu Temple
New Delhi: Following reports of hate graffiti being sprayed on a Swaminarayan temple in California, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that India has lodged a complaint with the United States and urged action.
According to the police department in Newark, California, a report was received on Friday (December 22) morning that graffiti had been sprayed on the compound wall and signpost of the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple.
The graffiti included the word ‘Khalistan’, as per photos circulated on social media.
Speaking to reporters in Gandhinagar on the sidelines of the convocation at Rashtriya Raksha University, Jaishankar said that India has formally lodged a protest with the United States and reiterated that extremists and separatist forces targeting India should not get space outside the country.
“I have seen the news. As you know, we are concerned about this. Extremists and separatist forces outside India should not get space. Our consulate has lodged a complaint with the [US] government and the police there over whatever happened, and I believe the matter is being inquired,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
The Indian consulate in San Francisco denounced the alleged vandalism of the temple.
We strongly condemn the defacing of SMVS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir at Newark, California with anti-India graffiti. This incident has hurt the sentiments of the Indian community. We have pressed for quick investigation and prompt action against the vandals by the US authorities in…
— India in SF (@CGISFO) December 23, 2023
According to PTI, the Newark police said any acts or threats of violence, property damage, harassment, intimidation or other crimes motivated by hate or bias are considered very serious and given very high priority.
Earlier this year, there were a series of reports of graffiti being sprayed on temples in Australia and cities in other parts of the Western world.
In September, the Times of India reported that in one of the cases, Australian investigators had proposed that Hindus may have defaced their own temple after intentionally shutting off CCTV cameras.
Documents pertaining to the investigation that compiled internal deliberations were released in response to a right to information application by an Australian Sikh author.
While one theory pursued was of a Hindu being behind the graffiti to incite hatred, no evidence was ultimately found.
Another part of the documents also talked of a theory involving “Sikh involvement” linked to an upcoming so-called referendum.
Another report filed by The Australia Today, a local media outlet focused on multicultural communities and the Indian subcontinent, quoted a Victoria Police spokesperson as saying that it had exhausted all avenues of investigation and found no suspects.
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