Bharatanatyam dancer denied entry to Srirangam temple, incident goes viral

TIRUCHY: The incident of a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer being stopped from entering the Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple by a resident went viral on social media on Saturday. According to temple sources, Zakir Hussain, a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, visited the Srirangam temple on Friday.

While the dancer was entering the temple, he was stopped by a resident near the Ariyapadal entrance, who said that only Hindus are allowed to go beyond that point. Following this, Hussain left the temple. A day after the incident, the issue went viral on all social media platforms and both, Hussain and the resident have raised allegations against each other. Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Sekar Babu told TNIE, “I have directed the Srirangam temple joint commissioner to submit a detailed report by Monday. Based on the report and CCTV footage,  action will be taken against the resident if the allegations are true.”