MILLSTONE, NEW JERSEY, February 22, 2006: Millstone Borough may seem like an unlikely destination for worshippers of a 19th century Indian saint. The historic town, settled in 1690, contains buildings older than the Declaration of Independence, hosted General George Washington and was the setting of several Revolutionary War skirmishes. With less than 500 residents and smaller than a square mile, the government still largely operates with citizen volunteers. But last July, Sai Mandir’s USA Newsletter announced the “Nori foundation has …purchased six acres of land in the town of Millstone in Somerset County, New Jersey to establish a … Sai Mandir. This will be a central location for all our devotees coming from Washington, Delaware, Philadelphia and New Jersey.” Last month, as the Planning Board began hearing the application for the mandir, a shrine to Indian guru Sai Baba (1838-1918), residents and board members began educating themselves on Hinduism and Indian architecture. The shrine will be located at the rear of the property, 345 feet from the road, with the existing Cape Cod home at the front of the property used as housing for the priests. An organized yet anonymous campaign in opposition of the proposed Hindu shrine has been denounced as fraudulent and cowardly by the Borough Council and mayor. The campaign features a newsletter and a Web site using the borough’s municipal building as a return address and a list of Millstone officials and their contact information. The site was latter taken down by its Webmaster with a message that the site was not connected to Millstone Borough or its officials.
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