When governments tasked with ensuring the safety of their citizens neglect this duty and allow faith to overshadow wisdom, unfortunate incidents occur, as evidenced by the events that transpired early on Wednesday (January 29) during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. At least 30 people died as a stampede broke out when a huge crowd of devotees broke the barricades at the Sangam area.
During the tenure of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a foreign dignitary visiting India during one such Maha Kumbh expressed astonishment and enquired, “How did you manage to organise such a grand fair? Surely, extensive publicity must have been carried out.”
Nehru responded, “On the contrary, we did not engage in any publicity. The key lies in our astrologers, who determine and announce auspicious times for specific days and locations. As a result, a large number of people naturally gather on those occasions. The role of the government is merely to ensure that no unfortunate incidents occur.”
The influence of astrologers remains just as remarkable during this year’s Maha Kumbh; in fact, it has grown stronger in the context of the prevailing Hindutva rhetoric.
It can be assumed that the Yogi Adityanath administration in Uttar Pradesh could have fully depended on these groups to achieve the unprecedented turnout of devotees it aimed for during the Maha Kumbh. However, petty political gains came in the way, leading the government to launch its own campaign to attract devotees from across the nation to Prayagraj for the event.
Utilising various government and non-government publicity mediums, including large advertisements and billboards featuring the prime minister and the chief minister, the impression was created that the Maha Kumbh area has been designated as a distinct district, welcoming devotees with open arms.
On top of this, this Maha Kumbh was projected as a rare event occurring after 144 years, with the next one anticipated to take place in another 144 years.
Many devotees, eager to cleanse themselves of their sins and attain virtue, viewed this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The heightened media coverage of the large crowds bathing during the Mela’s initial dates further motivated them to participate.
Upon arriving in Prayagraj, they encountered the irony that the government, which had extended such warm invitations, prioritised the hospitality of the so-called VVIPs – comprising both political and religious figures – over them.
The challenging circumstances they encountered revealed that the government offered little support to ordinary devotees, and to make matters worse, sought to suppress those voices that dared to question it.
Also read: Let Us Not Overdo this ‘Triumph of Faith’
Numerous viral videos highlight the discontent among both devotees and religious leaders regarding the challenges faced by them at the event.
In one clip, a religious leader expressed frustration over the prevailing chaos, stating that it is unclear who is responsible for addressing their concerns. Another video featured ordinary devotees exasperated by lengthy wait times and the extensive distances they had to cover on foot amidst the VVIP culture, expressing their anger towards police and administrative personnel, claiming they would rather return home or face arrest.
The government, preoccupied with ensuring comfortable dips for the self-styled elite, ignored these concerns. Furthermore, it failed to take any lessons from the recent fire incident at the Gita Press pandal, as well as from the tragic history of fatalities resulting from stampedes triggered by minor errors at similar events across the nation.
Had it taken these lessons to heart, innocent devotees would not have lost their lives.
After all, why could it not show the wisdom of cancelling the bath of the Akharas before the stampede?
The night of the stampede at this year’s Maha Kumbh has brought back haunting memories of the tragic stampede that occurred during the shahi snan on Mauni Amavasya on February 3, in the first Kumbh after independence held in Allahabad in 1954. In that incident, approximately 800 individuals – with some reports indicating over a thousand – including children, women and the elderly, lost their lives in a matter of minutes.
As the first Kumbh Mela after independence, it had generated heightened enthusiasm among citizens, who anticipated not only a vibrant display of traditional faith but also a celebration of their newfound freedom, symbolised by a multitude of joyful colours representing the end of oppression.
Comparing both instances, the only difference is the lack of resources back then. Due to this constraint, the local administration could only focus on making the best arrangements to keep the holy dips organised, disciplined and restrained despite anticipating a record number of devotees. As a result, when the situation unexpectedly worsened, little could be done.
This time, however, despite the huge budget allocated for the Maha Kumbh and the multi-faceted support of advanced technology, adequate arrangements were not made.
Following the stampede, the then-Prime Minister Nehru urged all VIPs to refrain from attending the Kumbh on important bathing festivals. In contrast, incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the event on February 5, and it is unlikely that he will issue a similar advisory.
This situation is particularly notable given that his supporters continue to blame Nehru for the tragedy that occurred during the 1954 Maha Kumbh.
Also read | Kumbh Diary: Silence after a Stampede
They repeatedly assert with considerable emphasis that in the eagerness to experience the Kumbh, a commotion broke out among devotees when the country’s first president, Rajendra Prasad, and Nehru descended from the dam on Triveni Road and made their way towards the historic fort constructed by Mughal emperor Akbar, where it is said that arrangements had been made for their reception.
It is claimed that the primary reason for the situation was that while a significant number of police personnel who were assigned to manage the crowd was engaged in the security details for the president and the prime minister, a procession from an Akhara made its way into the fair area through the dam and became chaotic due to insufficient direction and oversight.
Consequently, a crowd of devotees eager to observe the procession up close also became unruly, leading to an unexpected stampede. Those who stumbled and fell under the ensuing pressure were unable to regain their footing.
Such claims are made despite the fact that Nehru had visited the area to take stock of the preparations of Kumbh a day prior and returned the same day.
Prime Minister Modi did not hesitate to criticise Nehru over the incident during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In his address at a meeting in Kaushambi, he made misleading claims, stating that during Nehru’s visit to Kumbh in 1954, a stampede occurred due to disorganisation, resulting in the deaths of thousands.
According to experts, during the stampede, only President Prasad was watching the Dashnami sanyasis’ procession from the fort’s turret. As each procession approached, he would rise to acknowledge it, while the enthusiastic sanyasis would halt and brandish their swords and spears.
Since that time, all Kumbh festivals have been carried out successfully. There was, however, one unfortunate incident in 2013, during which 36 pilgrims lost their lives in a stampede at the Allahabad railway station during the Kumbh.
The incident that occurred outside the Kumbh area, for which the Union government-controlled railways were mostly responsible, led Adityanath and his camp to attribute blame to the previous Samajwadi Party administration and to Mohammad Azam Khan, who was the minister overseeing the Kumbh at that time. It remains to be seen how they are going to address the aftermath of the current stampede.
The problem is that they cannot hold anyone else responsible for the tragic incident except their own tardiness and inaction. One can only imagine how they would have reacted and what action they would have taken had there been a different angle involved.
The writer is a senior journalist.
This article was originally published on The Wire Hindi and was translated by Naushin Rehman.
