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Non-Hindus will be prohibited from entering Gangotri Dham in Uttarakhand after a decision taken unanimously during a meeting of the Shri Gangotri Temple Committee held on Sunday.
Shri Gangotri Temple Committee Chairman Suresh Semwal stated that, as per the decision, the entry of non-Hindus into the Dham will be strictly prohibited. He added that the ban will also remain in force at Mukhba, the winter residence of the deity. Meanwhile, Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Hemant Dwivedi said that a proposal to ban non-Hindus from entering both Dhams and all temples under the Temple Committee will be presented at the upcoming board meeting. Additionally, the Uttarakhand government is considering restricting the entry of non-Hindus to the 105 ghats of Haridwar, which span an area of 120 sq km, in response to requests from certain seers and the Ganga Sabha, the authority responsible for the upkeep of the prominent Har-ki-Pauri ghat. Additionally, the state is reportedly planning to designate both Haridwar and Rishikesh as "sanatan pavitra shehar" (sacred cities). Earlier in March 2025, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Asha Nautiyal from the Kedarnath assembly constituency demanded that "non-Hindu people be banned" from entering the temple premises. "There was a meeting held recently regarding the Yatra management at Kedarnath... Some people raised an issue that some incidents take place which go unnoticed. I also agree if some people are doing anything that may malign the image of Kedarnath Dham, then the entry of such people should be banned," Asha Nautiyal said to ANI. Further, Nautiyal alleged that these people are definitely "non-Hindus" who come to defame the temple and are involved in such activities. "They are definitely non-Hindus who come there and are involved in such activities which defame the Dham. We need to look into it because if such an issue has been raised, then there must be something to it. We will demand that the entry of such people be banned," she added. (ANI)
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