Patna: A temple dedicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, featuring a life-sized statue made of gold, has been proposed in Bihar by a member of the state’s Transgender Welfare Board.
The ambitious proposal was presented by Dr Rajan Singh at the board’s meeting held recently, where it was approved by the members, according to Singh. The proposal will now be sent to the Cabinet Secretariat department for consideration.
If approved, the project would require 5 acres of land and Rs 112 crore in government funding, Singh said. He described the proposed structure as the first and largest temple dedicated to a serving or former prime minister.
For Singh, however, the project is about more than a temple. He sees it as a symbol of the social recognition and legal rights he believes the transgender community has gained under Modi’s government.
‘A Change In Our Destiny’
Singh, who is a member of the Transgender Welfare Board, credited the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 with changing the prospects of transgender people in Bihar.
He said members of the community are now entering professions and public institutions that were previously difficult to access, including the police, medicine and engineering. He also pointed to the appointment of transgender people to positions within government welfare structures.
“In 2019, PM Modi’s government enacted the Transgender Protection Act, which changed our destiny,” Singh said.
He argued that the proposed temple would recognise what he regards as Modi’s contribution to the community and its struggle for dignity and rights.
From Welfare Policy To A Temple
Singh said he personally introduced the temple proposal at the board’s meeting, attended by departmental secretaries and senior officials.
The board’s approval marks the beginning of a process that would require government consideration of the proposed land allocation and funding.
Singh said the project would create a grand temple in Patna and could also transform Bihar into a tourist destination.
He said Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary was supportive of the initiative and that the state government had welcomed the proposal.
The proposed funding would cover the construction of the temple and the gold statue. Singh added that members of the transgender community would be prepared to contribute if there were a shortfall in funds.
A Personal Tribute
Singh’s support for the project is rooted in his personal assessment of how the transgender community’s position in society has changed.
He said that before the recent legal and policy measures, transgender people had faced generations of discrimination, humiliation and social exclusion.
Drawing a religious parallel, he compared PM Modi’s role in empowering transgender people and women to the way Lord Ram is traditionally associated with uplifting figures such as Ahalya, Shabari and Kevat.
Singh also cited measures concerning Muslim women, including the abolition of triple talaq, as examples of policies he believes have improved the lives of marginalised communities.
Proposal Still Awaits Government Decision
Despite the scale of the proposal, the temple is not yet a sanctioned project. The proposal still has to move through the state government’s decision-making process, including consideration by the Cabinet Secretariat department.
The request for 5 acres of land and Rs 112 crore will therefore determine whether the plan moves from a resolution of the welfare board to an actual construction project.
For Singh, the proposed temple represents a larger message about the transgender community’s changing place in Bihar. He believes its construction could become a landmark symbol of that transformation — and potentially inspire more transgender people in the state to pursue careers in public service, medicine, engineering and other professions.
