The Continued Desecration of Hindu Temples

*Trigger Warning* Hindu colonial trauma

Screenshot Image description: Photo shows a large rectangular building set on grey concrete foundations, painted a pinky peach color with white pillars and domes. The three domes rising from the roof are sculpted in traditional styles, two in rising geometric carving styles and one in smooth rounded style. There are six sculpted reliefs visible on the front of the building of Hindu deities placed between the white pillars that are built into the walls. The sculpted reliefs look to be unpainted and either dark grey/brown or light grey. It’s not clear if they are either stone or metal sculptures.The entrance way is in the center and has a roof that is supported by four white pillars. That entrance way extends forward and also has a second floor above which acts as a open balcony. The balcony is covered with one of the three domes that is supported by four white pillars. Three Hindu deities dressed in pink and yellow are displayed on the open balcony. They deities look to be made of marble. Caption below the picture reads in black text on a white background: “The Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga, which is among the temples in the Greater Toronto Area that were broken into within the last ten days. (Source: Hindu Heritage Centre)”

Multiple temples in Greater Toronto have just been robbed and violated in January 2022. Beginning from January 15th, according to reports, the burglars broke in and stole cash from donation boxes and the jewelry of the deities on the altar in temples all over the Toronto area. This was clear targeting of the Hindu community in their most sacred community spaces, where all Hindus are supposed to be safe.

This is traumatizing for Hindus in Toronto and for Hindus elsewhere because it proves yet again that we Hindus still suffer from Hinduphobia no matter where we are in the world. We were genocided and colonized in our Indigenous land and the very same tactics the colonizers used there are still being used today in Canada against us. The very fact that there are Hindus in the stolen Native land of so-called “Canada” is due to the genocide and colonization we Hindus suffered. No one leaves their sacred Indigenous land by choice. They leave because they have no way to live there safely and peacefully and they are driven out. And thus Hindus have ended up in places like Canada, where other Indigenous peoples were also genocided and driven out and displaced from their sacred Indigenous land.

Hinduphobia is not just in Canada. The truth is that Hindu temples are constantly being attacked…