Haridwar: The Ganga Sabha, the apex managing body of the sanctum sanctorum of Brahmakund Har-ki-Pauri and adjoining Ganga ghats, on Friday installed hoardings and flex banners prohibiting the entry of non-Hindus at Har-ki-Pauri in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar.
Haridwar municipal corporation town commissioner Nandan Kumar said the matter had come to their notice but no formal directives had been issued by the state government. “We will act as per government instructions when they are issued,” he said.
Ganga Sabha president Nitin Gautam referred to the Haridwar municipal bylaws enacted in 1916 under the guidance of Pt Madan Mohan Malviya, which reportedly restricted the entry, residence and commercial activities of non-Hindus in the Har-ki-Pauri area. “Given the increasing influx of visitors and instances of non-Hindus entering this holy site, we are merely adhering to these provisions,” Gautam added.
Gautam said the body had raised this demand last month. “We had earlier demanded a ban on the entry of non-Hindus not only at Har-ki-Pauri but also at all 105 Ganga ghats in Haridwar to preserve the sanctity and spiritual significance of this ancient Hindu pilgrimage site. From Friday onwards, we have formally put up boards informing visitors about this prohibition,” he said.
Ganga Sabha secretary Ujjwal Pundit, who supervised the installation of the boards at multiple locations around Har-ki-Pauri on Friday, said that such restrictions are needed to “maintain the sanctity” of the Ganga ghats.
The Ganga Sabha has also demanded that the state government refrain from deploying non-Hindu government officials and police personnel on duty at Har-ki-Pauri.
However, government officials pointed out that the post-Independence 1954 Haridwar municipal committee bylaws also state that while non-Hindus are generally prohibited from the island-shaped platform at Har-ki-Pauri and Kushawrat Ghat, government employees on duty are exempt.
Meanwhile, the Congress party has opposed the move.
Former Haridwar municipal committee chairperson and Sonipat MP Satpal Brahmachari said that the Ganga ghats and the Kumbh Mela area extend up to Roorkee, where many non-Hindus reside. “In today’s multi-religious society, how feasible is such a blanket prohibition? Instead of raising divisive issues, the focus should be on better arrangements for the upcoming Ardh Kumbh,” he said.
Manglaur Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Qazi Nizamuddin said that while bylaws should be respected, the issue was being politicised. He alleged that the ruling dispensation was using the controversy to “divert attention” from “governance issues such as law and order, corruption, the Kashipur suicide case, the Vineet Tyagi custodial death, land disputes in Rishikesh, and competitive exam paper leaks.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed the Congress for opposing the discussion on restricting the entry of non-Hindus into the Haridwar Kumbh Mela area, describing it as part of the opposition’s “appeasement politics”.
BJP president Mahendra Bhatt said that the sentiments of Sanatan Dharma must be respected in matters concerning religious traditions and practices, particularly in the context of the Kumbh Mela and the Har-ki-Pauri area in Haridwar.
Bhatt said that the Congress’s objections were politically motivated rather than based on religious or cultural concerns. “The rule regarding non-Hindu entry in certain sacred areas of Haridwar is not new; it has been implicitly followed for decades. Everyone should respect and abide by the traditions set by religious leaders and the local priestly community,” he said.
“No non-Hindu would come to bathe in the Ganga at Haridwar with the intention of attaining religious virtue. So why should anyone object to following existing traditions?” he added.
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