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France's famous Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday due to a strike by employees.
The employees allege that when a Hindu religious group arrived over the weekend, the women employees were asked to leave the place.
"When the Hindu group arrived, the female employees were asked to leave their workstations so that they could be replaced by male employees," employee union representative Diane Davoan told Reuters news agency.
This incident spread anger among the employees. French politicians criticized it and city authorities have launched an investigation.
Bochasanvasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, i.e. BAPS, the Hindu religious organization at the center of the controversy, has apologized. The organization said its visit was organized in coordination with the tower's team and no one was prevented from entering.
Baps said in a statement, "We understand the concerns raised and take them extremely seriously. Given our numbers, this tour was organized in coordination with the Eiffel Tower team during the normal opening hours. We wanted to cause minimal inconvenience to others. To the best of our knowledge, at no time was anyone prevented from entering the Eiffel Tower. However, if anyone was offended or inconvenienced, we sincerely apologize."
The incident occurred on Saturday last week during a visit by a group of around 100 people.
SETE, the company that operates the Eiffel Tower, said the group had requested limited interaction with female employees as a condition of their visit.
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"These conditions should not have been accepted," SETE said. On Tuesday, when India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked to comment on the matter, he said, "We are aware of the opening of a temple by the Baps organization in Paris. As far as this particular matter related to the tower is concerned, it is entirely a matter between the concerned parties."
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This incident was discussed all over the world and Baps is also being criticized. The New Yorker's global affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor has written on X, "BAPS is a shameful and backward-thinking organization. He has more influence than his actual stature. What exactly happened here is not yet clear, but there are serious allegations in the US as well.
Even journalists with right-wing identity in India are targeting Baps.
Nupur J Sharma, editor of Op India, has written on
Nupur has written, "Baps has served Hinduphobia on a platter to the western countries. This will further increase the unnecessary racism that Hindus are already facing. Baps temples abroad are targeted by Khalistan supporters because they are seen as Hindu places of worship. Now after Baps are criticized in France, Hindus will be targeted for being backward, while a section of Baps tries to prove that they are not Hindus.
Nupur has written, "I personally don't like what Baps did. If he has any problem with women, he should stay in his ashram only. There was a reason behind this that men used to spend their lives in the mountains after taking the vow of celibacy. But I hate the fact that because of his actions, Hindus will have to face unnecessary hatred, while a section of them insults Hindu Gods and Goddesses whenever they want.
Reposting this post of Nupur, leftist writer Salil Tripathi has written, "I never thought that I would retweet Nupur's tweet, but now I should." In her own strange way, she believes that Baps did a stupid thing and I am grateful to her for that, although I have a different reason.
'If you avoid women then why did you go to the Eiffel Tower?'
British news website The Independent wrote in one of its reports, "Baps people practice celibacy, so they cannot talk, touch or socialize with women."
According to the Independent report, "Baps said it was not his intention to discriminate against or reject women. In fact, it is a moral discipline adopted to maintain the character of a saint and for personal spiritual progress."
Former Foreign Secretary of India Kanwal Sibal has also strongly criticized BAPS. Kanwal Sibal has written on X, "If the facts are true, then it is like shooting an ax in one's own foot."
“If you want to minimize contact with women, then why do you want to go to the Eiffel Tower? For feminists, especially in a country with a rich history of feminist ideas and movements, things like this are a red line. The management of the Eiffel Tower is also responsible for this. He should have refused to accept this request.
Sibal has written, "The importance this incident is getting is perhaps not worthy of it." Since it involved the case of the world's most visited monument, the Eiffel Tower, and it had to be closed for a day due to a strike against women employees, it was bound to happen. This incident will further fuel the anti-Hindu campaigns going on in western countries.
Delhi University professor and author Apoorvanand has written sarcastically on this incident, "Hindus say that Hinduism is about liberation, equality and openness. This is the most progressive religion. Only its practices are backward.
Arnaud Bertrand is a well-known French entrepreneur, social media commentator and geopolitical analyst.
"This sounds completely unbelievable, but I double-checked and it's true," he wrote on X. The Eiffel Tower remained closed on Monday because a Hindu sect had demanded that all the women move away so that their 93-year-old guru could visit.
Arnaud has written, "The name of this sect is Baps - "ボChasanvasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha. It roughly means "Organization of Swaminarayan followers who believe in Akshar Purushottam, located in Bochasan village of Gujarat."
“This is a very rich organization, which has deep connections with Modi's BJP. Modi himself is from Gujarat. This organization is known for building huge temples around the world and its doctrine considers complete obedience to a living guru as the only way to reach God.
''This is not its first controversy. In 2021, the FBI raided its huge temple in New Jersey. The laborers working there at that time were mostly Dalits. They were called to America on fake religious visas, their passports were confiscated and they were made to work 13-13 hours a day for about one dollar an hour. He was kept in a complex with security arrangements.
Baps has recently opened a new huge temple in France. It is in Bussy-Saint-Georges, 30 kilometers from Paris. It has been described as the largest Hindu temple built in the traditional style in continental Europe. His guru was also present there for the inauguration of the temple and as happens on such occasions, he expressed his desire to see the Eiffel Tower while in France. But the problem was that according to his religious principles, women should not be in front of him.
Controversies related to Baps temples
In a lawsuit filed in 2021, it was claimed that around 200 Dalit laborers from India were allegedly brought to New Jersey, USA. Where Baps was made to work 12 hours a day to help build a Hindu temple and was paid $1.20 per hour. Baps denied the allegations and the US Justice Department closed the criminal investigation in September last year without filing any charges.
This case was filed on behalf of about 200 Indian workers in the US District Court in Newark, New Jersey. The workers had alleged that the country's basic laws were violated, including laws prohibiting forced labour.
In March last year, a Baps temple in California was vandalized, to which the Ministry of External Affairs of India gave a strong reaction.
In September 2024, Baps Temple in New York was vandalized and slogans targeting Modi were written there. Suffolk County Police had said that the messages written on the walls included threatening and derogatory anti-Hindu messages.
