EDITORIAL: The Kumbh Mela, held every three years in one of the four cities in the India’s most populous state, UP, is known to be the world’s biggest religious gathering.
This year the festival being celebrated in Prayagraj was believed to be particularly auspicious because of positive alignment of certain celestial bodies, hence named Maha (great) Kumbh. But for some it was ill-omened.
At least 40 people were killed and dozens more injured in a stampeded early on Wednesday, when pilgrims rushed to bathe at the confluence of Rivers Ganges and Yamuna, considered holy by practicing Hindus.
Thousands of people lying or sitting on the river banks were trampled as safety barricades broke and fences were pulled down, say reports. Many were trodden on while trying to escape after bathing, adding to the bedlam.
It is worth noting that this happened in a BJP ruled state where a monk-turned-politician Yogi Adityanath is the chief minister. The event, according to his government, was expected to draw as many as 400 million visitors. This required extraordinary arrangements and constant vigilance.
Neither element seems to have received sufficient attention, which unfortunately led to loss of life. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha (lower house) Rahul Gandhi in a post on X has blamed “mismanagement and administration’s special focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees” for the tragic incident.
In a somewhat similar vein the Aam Aadmi Party Delhi government minister Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP government of using religious events for political purposes. “VIPs and billionaires are flattered there,” he said. “This is injustice to the common devotees”.
He has also demanded Yogi Adityanath resign, which is not within the realm of possibility at this point in time. There seems to be little doubt about that he and others in the BJP have been interested in using the occasion more for influence pedalling than ensuring safety of ordinary pilgrims.
In fact, a media report had warned beforehand that common people were being sidelined at the Kumbh Mela — which goes on for 45 days — for the sake of VIP culture. Yet a day before the ill-fated incident, i.e., on Tuesday, most of the temporary pontoon bridges built to connect river banks were cordoned off, apparently, to make way for VIP movement.
Consequently, the pilgrims had fewer passages to get to the most desired bathing spot where the two living holy rivers and a third mythical one, called Sarasvati, meet. Any little mistake or a misstep in such a situation could cause a stampede.
It is not known so far what triggered it, but there are hardly two opinions on that the BJP leadership had mismanaged the event, and also used it for engaging in self-aggrandisement at the cost of regular people.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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