Jagannath temple in Puri to enforce dress code for devotees from January 1

• Dress code for devotees in Puri’s Jagannath from Jan 1, temple authorities start awareness programme. 
• The kind of dresses to be allowed will soon be decided. 
• Security personnel deployed at ‘Singha Dwar’ of the temple, and Pratihari servitors inside the temple have been assigned the responsibility to enforce the code. 
• People wearing half-plants, shorts, torn jeans, skirts, and sleeveless dresses will not be allowed entry into the temple 
• Not just Puri and temples in Uttar Pradesh, dress codes are being implemented in temples across India. 

The 12th-century Jagannath temple in Puri will enforce a dress code for devotees from January 1, an official said on Monday. The decision was taken at the ‘Niti’ sub-committee meeting after a few people were found in the temple in “indecent” dresses, he said.

“It is our responsibility to maintain the dignity and sanctity of the temple. Unfortunately, some people have been found visiting the temple without caring about the religious sentiments of others,” said Shree Jagannath Temple Administration chief Ranjan Kumar Das.

“Some people were found in the temple wearing torn jeans pants, sleeveless dresses, and half-pants as if they were strolling on the sea beach or a park. The temple is the abode of God, not a place for entertainment,” he said. The kind of dresses to be allowed will soon be decided, he added.

“The dress code will be strictly enforced inside the temple from January 1, 2024. Security personnel deployed at ‘Singha Dwar’ of the temple, and Pratihari servitors inside the temple have been assigned the responsibility to enforce the code,” Das said.

The temple administration will start creating awareness about the dress code among the devotees from Tuesday, he said. People wearing half-plants, shorts, torn jeans, skirts, and sleeveless dresses will not be allowed entry into the temple, he said.

Jagannath Temple in Odisha is not the only temple in India that took this decision. In July last year, Jharkhand Mahadev Temple in Jaipur district introduced a dress code for devotees. They asked them to refrain from wearing ripped jeans, shorts, frocks, night suits, and mini-skirts.

In the recent past, several prominent temples across Uttar Pradesh have put up notices asking devotees to dress ‘decently’ and avoid ‘inappropriate’ clothing choices while visiting a shrine. The move comes in the wake of several devotees wearing short or flashy clothes to temples.

Recently, such notices were seen outside Mankameshwar temple in Prayagraj, Shri Radha Damodar temple in Mathura, and other revered shrines. Meanwhile, in the Mankameshwar temple of Lucknow, the dress code is implemented for devotees who want to come inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. This dress code has been in practice since 2019. If any devotee comes to the temple wearing revealing clothes, they are not allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum, said Mahant Devya Giri, Mankameshwar Temple.

Not just in Uttar Pradesh, dress codes are being implemented in temples across India. In Uttarakhand, a number of temples in Dehradun, Rishikesh, and Haridwar, have recently introduced a dress code. The Mahanirvani Panchayati Akhada, a prominent religious body, has taken the initiative to enforce the code, to maintain the dignity of religious places.

(With inputs from agencies)