3 min readNew DelhiMar 18, 2026 09:58 AM IST
The Badri-Kedar Temple Committee (BKTC) has announced that non-Hindus will be required to submit an affidavit declaring their faith in Sanatan Dharma in order to visit the shrine. The move has drawn particular attention due to references to Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan, who frequently shares posts about her visits to the temple.
Speaking at a press conference, BKTC chairman Hemant Dwivedi said, “Those (non-Hindus) who have faith in Sanatan Dharma and provide a written declaration stating, ‘I am a Sanatani; I believe in Hindutva,’ are welcome.”
‘Sara Ali Khan should also submit affidavit’
When asked specifically about Sara Ali Khan, Dwivedi added, “If she affirms that she holds faith and devotion towards Sanatan and submits an affidavit to that effect, she will be granted darshan.” He also confirmed that a standardised format for the affidavit has been introduced.
The decision follows a board meeting held on March 9, where members unanimously approved a proposal to prohibit the entry of non-Sanatanis into the temple complexes and garbhagrihas of Badrinath Temple and Kedarnath Temple. The proposal has been forwarded to the Uttarakhand Government ahead of the upcoming Char Dham Yatra, which is scheduled to begin on April 19, coinciding with Akshaya Tritiya.
When Sara Ali Khan spoke about visiting Kedarnath
While Sara Ali Khan has not yet responded to the latest developments, she had earlier addressed the criticism she receives for visiting temples despite not being Hindu. Speaking at the Times Now Summit last year, she reflected on her identity and upbringing.
Recalling a moment from her childhood, she shared, “I was very young, in school, and even when my parents were married and we used to travel abroad together, I used to always wonder… Amrita Singh, Saif Pataudi, Sara Sultana, Ibrahim Ali Khan—what is going on? Who are we? And I remember asking my mom, ‘What am I?’ And she told me, ‘You are Indian.’ I will never forget that.”
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She further said, “We are a secular nation, and I think that all these concepts, all these boundaries are made and manipulated by people. I don’t adhere to them. I just don’t give them the importance that others might.”
In a firm statement about her spiritual choices, she added, “My personal trip to Kedarnath—with all due respect to anyone who likes it or hates it—is not about any of you. It’s about me. I feel comfortable there, I feel peaceful there, I feel happy there.”
