A day earlier, tens of thousands of Indians filled a soccer stadium in capital Abu Dhabi, cheering on Mr Modi who is seeking a rare third term in India's upcoming general election. His visit to one of India's largest trading partners showed how the Hindu nationalist has deepened New Delhi's relations with the Middle East.
At home, critics say that since Mr Modi took office in 2014, religious polarisation has risen and that Indian Muslims, who make up 14 per cent of the 1.42 billion population, are being marginalised.
The opening of the temple in a Muslim country has garnered widespread domestic press coverage in India and follows January's opening by Mr Modi of a massive temple in India built on the site of a 16th-century mosque destroyed by a Hindu mob in 1992.
The UAE government gifted the 11ha in Abu Dhabi where the grand temple was built. It was constructed at a cost of about US$95 million (S$128 million) by the Hindu BAPS organisation that was founded in Mr Modi's home state of Gujarat more than a century ago.
This story is from the February 16, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the February 16, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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