Arguably the first renowned rationalist in the world, Gautama Buddha, is well known for exhorting people to shun blind belief and embrace an inquisitive way of living. He is believed to have given his first sermon in Sarnath in present day Uttar Pradesh, around 2,500 years ago. The manner in which Sarnath pales in comparison to the glitter and glory of neighbouring Varanasi in today’s India perhaps sums up the reason why superstition rules the roost while scientific spirit is willfully undermined.
The recent incident of stampede in Prayagraj (merely 2 hours away from Sarnath) that took place in the wee hours of January 29, 2025, during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela and took the lives of at least 30 people is an epitome of unshakeable irrationality. According to some media reports, the sudden crowd surge happened as there was a mad rush to take the holy dip at the confluence of the sacred rivers at a particular time that was felt to be the most auspicious on an already touted auspicious day.
In the aftermath of the gory stampede, it is on expected lines to blame the government machinery for their inadequate planning, particularly since they went overboard in advertising the event and attracting an unforeseen crowd making it the largest human gathering in the world. But it is also important to acknowledge that this is not the first time and neither will it be the last time, a sad reality given the state of affairs in India.
A history of stampedes
It has, in fact, become customary to witness stampedes at such events. For instance, in the 1954 Kumbh mela stampede, also in Prayag, a whopping 800 (or more) people were believed to have died. In 2015, during the Godavari maha-pushkaram event (a once-in-a-144 year event akin to the current Maha Kumbh) in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, 27 people died in a stampede triggered by a similar crowd surge. As recently as 3 weeks ago, six people died and scores injured in a melee for buying tickets to visit Tirupati Balaji temple on an auspicious day.
Leave alone discouraging such unnatural crowd gatherings that are bound to result in disasters, governments in all these instances show overenthusiasm in adding to the hype – be it by politicians themselves taking the holy dip or by promising lavish arrangements for the common people that never materialise and fall way short of even meeting basic needs.
Stampede situations even during movie events and more bizarrely on the first day of popular movie releases is a sign of another level of decay in our country, the root of which again lies in ignorance and blind worship.
The bigger problem is the gullibility of millions of people in believing that an act such as a dip in polluted river water is somehow holy. It is also noteworthy that education is no panacea to such ignorance given that doctors, engineers and celebrities of all hues are equally enthusiastic in participating in this endeavor. Rational individuals must wonder how are we as a society still so credulous even though it is in our land that such stalwarts like Buddha had preached wisdom that questions rituals.
What happened to our Charvaka philosophy that spoke of materialism perhaps even before the time of famous ancient Greek philosophers? Is this the same land where Lokayata, “wisdom of the common people”, once prevailed and questioned dogmatic beliefs? Looking back in to our history, we can see that the ideological awakening heralded by such paradigm-shifting philosophies was repeatedly thwarted by successive waves of hyper-ritualist “ways of life”.
Generations of ignorance and blind belief
Eventually, a “way of life” dominated by a birth-based, abhorrent division of humanity in to infinitesimal caste groups and an unquestioned obeisance to deities got firmly entrenched, paving the way for generations of ignorance and blind belief to an extent that harms the people themselves and stunts the progress of the society as a whole.
It is not like the rest of the society just adopted this “way of life” without a whimper. Our history is dotted with a continuous line of philosophers, thinkers and politicians that strived to rid us of superstition be it Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ambedkar, Phule and Periyar to name a few. Each of them (and many more) were able to achieve some success but the travesty of our society is such that even erstwhile revolutionaries are co-opted by contemporary traditionalists and turned into idols.
Subsequently, ritualism and hyperbole takes over while ignoring the very essence of those ideologists as seen with omnipotent Buddha figurines in our homes while paying no heed to his opposition to blind belief or Ambedkar statue-worship while doing nothing to annihilate caste.
Only an iron-willed state-supported approach can achieve progress in eradicating the scourge of ignorance and superstition. There is one shining example in our own history that is of Ashoka who made it a state policy to embrace humanity and shun ritualism. In post-independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru is credited with his insistence on scientific temper but this ideology never reached the masses of India.
Democratic India has woefully failed in taking a pro-active approach towards inculcating a scientific way of life. The rationalist movement initiated by Periyar achieved success in giving birth to a Dravidian political system that has implemented many reforms that over a generation have led to a clear distinction between Tamil Nadu (and by extension some other South Indian states) vis a vis some North Indian states.
Also Read: Maha Kumbh Stampede Was a Tragedy in Waiting
Expecting a scientific temper from the current central dispensation is a tall order when the head of the state proclaims himself as non-biological, the second in command gleefully flaunts his belief in superstition and scores of government functionaries at the highest levels have no qualms in propagating myths.
A way out of this conundrum will take a herculean effort and every little step from all rational people will count. Until then, naïve masses will continue to be crushed under the juggernaut of ritualism and irrationality.
On the brighter side, we have to be content in thinking that, out of 140 crore Indians, a 100 crore resisted the idea of a holy dip given that the government estimates that 40 crore people will participate in the Maha Kumbh mela, a number supposedly bloated in itself!
G. Naveen is a physician who writes on politics and social justice.