BAPS NJ

Short answer: BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, in Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, was built by the Hindu organization Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). It was formally dedicated on October 8, 2023, and opened to the public on October 18.

The AP called it the largest Hindu temple built outside India in the modern era, and NBC News called it the largest in the U.S. The 183-acre figure (NBC also cites 185) is for the whole campus, not the mandir building. Work began in 2011, so construction took about 12 years. BAPS says about 12,500 volunteers took part. About 2 million cubic feet of stone was used, and a 2023 report counted about 4.7 million hours of artisan and volunteer work. The stone came from several countries, including Bulgarian and Turkish limestone, marble from Italy, Greece and Turkey, granite from India and China, and Indian sandstone. It was carved by artisans in India, dry-fitted there, then shipped about 8,000 miles to New Jersey for assembly. A 2021 federal lawsuit by workers who came on religious visas alleged forced labor and very low pay. BAPS says the artisans were religious volunteers. Twelve of the original plaintiffs withdrew their claims in October 2023, and the lawsuit is ongoing.

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