Along the temple walls are carvings of historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, said Trivedi.
“When you come to the mandir, you will see people of all genders … all castes and social backgrounds living, eating, praying, loving and serving together,” he said.
Activists say the allegations still raise questions about the line between religious service and work exploitation, which Dalit communities are especially vulnerable to.
As a caste-privileged Hindu, civil rights activist Sunita Viswanath says this fact weighs heavily for her.
“A place of worship, a temple, is such an important space, especially for an immigrant community who’s making home in a new country,” said Viswanath, a co-founder of the civil rights group Hindus for Human Rights. I would want anybody who goes to the temple to really ask themselves, really do some soul searching, about going to a temple where there are such serious allegations of labor and human rights violations.”
Toeing the line between modern Jersey and ancient India
Placing 2 million cubic feet of stone in Robbinsville Township was no small feat, Trivedi said, and the temple itself is a cultural mixture, with materials sourced from all over the world and nods to American history throughout.
