Hindu Temple of Greater Wichita

Starting in the 1970s, Hindus began to move to the Greater Wichita area, most of whom were students at Wichita State University. As the community grew, there was greater demand for a permanent location for Hindus to congregate. In 1998, Dr. Raghu and Rekha Reddi consulted with several Hindu families in the area to start plans to build a Hindu temple. In February 2000, the Hindu Temple of Greater Wichita was registered as a religious charity by the IRS.^[2] The Hindu temple acquired land in February 2000 but the surrounding community opposed the idea of the Hindu temple due to traffic concerns. In 2001, the land was bought back by various people in the surrounding community and the Hindu temple sought new land. In March, 2.5 acres was acquired on North Zelta Street and construction began. On June 16, 2002, The temple celebrated its opening ceremony.^[3] The opening ceremony was attended by seven Hindu priests and one Jain priest. Mayor Robert G. Knight declared June 16 Hindu Temple of Greater Wichita Day. In 2005, the second anniversary of the temple was celebrated with installing various murtis, Hindu gods, in the temple.^[4] In 2013, after much opposition from the local community, the temple expanded an additional 2.5 acres to start construction of a community hall, kitchen, and library.^[5]

In 2018, the HTGW won a humanitarian award for its members collecting supplies for refugees in the Wichita area.^[6]