DOJ CLOSES ITS "CASTE" INVESTIGATION INTO THE BAPS TEMPLE IN NEW JERSEY

CoHNA demands accountability from media, activists, and institutions who used unproven allegations to vilify the Hindu community

TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) welcomes the US Department of Justice's decision to close its investigation of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple in Robbinsville, NJ, over alleged "caste discrimination" and worker exploitation. This marks a significant victory for the Hindu community in America, which has endured a campaign of calumny designed to malign our faith, our temples, and our institutions based on this unproven allegation.

In 2021, this spectacular Hindu temple, the largest in the West, became the target of a coordinated effort to portray Hindus and Hindu institutions as inherently oppressive and dangerous to American values. Despite these allegations being unproven, media outlets amplified them without scrutiny. The New York Times published an article while the FBI was still conducting its raid. The Trentonian sensationalized the episode, referring to it as "The Temple of Doom," reviving tired Hinduphobic tropes from the 1980s Indiana Jones franchise. 

Today's closure of the DOJ case against BAPS follows a clear pattern. In 2023, the State of California withdrew its caste discrimination case against two Cisco engineers, Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella, after the allegations crumbled under scrutiny. That same year, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 403, a bill explicitly targeting caste. These repeated collapses expose how allegations were treated as gospel in public discourse long before being subjected to even basic fact-checking.

As Nikunj Trivedi, CoHNA president, stated: "This outcome proves that truth eventually wins. But who will repair the damage once reputations are destroyed? The Hindu community refuses to be the perpetual scapegoat for imported debates that have nothing to do with American realities. We demand that media and policymakers engage with Hindu voices directly, instead of relying on activists whose sole agenda is to divide and defame."

Independent research from Carnegie Endowment shows there is very low caste awareness and minimal actual experiences of caste discrimination in the US. Ignoring this, over the past few years, the case against BAPS, along with another unproven allegation of caste discrimination at Cisco Systems have been treated as positive proof of a widespread malaise among American Hindus. The impact was real and evident as Hindus across the country came under suspicion and a rash of policies to "fix" this supposed discrimination followed.

Call to Accountability

This victory demands action from those who rushed to judgment:

• Media outlets that amplified unproven allegations must publish corrections and commit to consulting Hindu community leaders before any future coverage of Hindu institutions.
  
  
• Universities and corporations that adopted caste discrimination policies based on these failed cases should immediately reconsider and withdraw these measures.
  
  
• The City of Seattle must undo its flawed ordinance from 2023, and lawmakers must pause pending caste legislation such as in New York State, until proper community consultation and evidence-based research is conducted.
  
  
• Academic institutions should ensure balanced perspectives, rather than giving a platform solely to activist voices with axes to grind.

We invite these institutions to engage in direct dialogue with Hindu American leadership to rebuild the trust they shattered.

The Hindu community in America stands strong. We will continue fighting for fairness, truth, and respect—ensuring that false accusations do not become accepted as truth and that the dignity of our temples, institutions, and people remains protected.

About CoHNA
CoHNA is a grassroots level advocacy and civil rights organization dedicated to improving the understanding of Hinduism in North America by working on matters related to the Hindu community and by educating the public about Hindu heritage and tradition. For more information, please visit https://cohna.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on Instagram.

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SOURCE Coalition of Hindus of North America