Kedarnath: The centuries-old Hindi shrines at Kedarnath and Badrinath, nestled in the lap of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, may soon join the list of temples in the country that do not allow entry to non-Hindus.
The temple body managing these shrines has announced that a decision will be taken soon to bar non-Hindus from entering the two temples that are part of the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit, as reported by NDTV.
The rule barring non-Hindus will apply to all temples controlled by the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), including the Badrinath-Kedarnath Dham, it has been reported.
BKTC president Hemant Dwivedi has been quoted as saying that the entry for non-Hindus will be prohibited in all temples under the temple committee. A proposal to this effect will be passed in the upcoming temple committee board meeting.
While the Badrinath temple will reopen its gates on April 23 after a six-month winter closure, the date for opening the Kedarnath temple gates will be announced on Maha Shivratri.
Besides Kedarnath and Badrinath, the other two shrines that are part of the Chota Char Dham include Gangotri and Yamunotri. Their gates will be reopened on April 19 on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya.
Among the temples in the country that bar entry to non-Hindus are the Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri and Guruvayur Temple in Kerala. The Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar also bars the entry of non-Hindus to the inner sanctum. At the Balaji Temple in Tirupati, non-Hindus must sign a declaration of their belief in Hinduism before being allowed entry.
