The preparations for the Mahakumbh Mela 2025 which is an integral part of Indian tradition and is renowned globally as the largest peaceful congregation of people are underway in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The event which is one of the world’s largest public gatherings and collective acts of faith is slated to begin on 13th January and would span up to 26th of February, 2025.
As reported earlier, the state government this time has made massive arrangements for the devotees and is expected to host over 40-45 crore people from across the globe. The Yogi Adityanath government has set up a fireproof dome city and IRCTC’s “Mahakumbh Gram” luxury in Maha Kumbh for visitors to experience India’s rich cultural heritage and spiritual traditions. The city setup is further slated to offer Sangam view from within the cottages where people would be able to see and worship the Ganga and Yamuna rivers from within the premises. Apart from this, the tourists coming to Prayagraj Maha Kumbh will also be able to enjoy the panoramic view of Sangam through a speed motor boat. The Tourism Department is also conducting a special training program for Maha Kumbh under which the guides, taxi drivers, vendors, and sailors who take people on a city tour are trained.
The other major crucial arrangements undertaken by the state government for the Mahakumbh are related to security, health, commutation, food, environment, etc. The detailed report regarding these can be read here. In October, CM Yogi stated that the state would use AI tools to ensure safety, focusing on ‘zero plastic usage’ and expanding the area of the fiesta for the upcoming Mahakumbh event.
Explaining the arrangements and preparations, he further said that the government had ensured that no devotees would have to walk for more than 1 km during the festival except for the 6 peak days, which include the festival of Makar Sankranti, Mouni Amawasya, Mahashivratri, Posh Purnima and Maghi Purnima. Later in November, he issued clear instructions to officials, emphasizing that no devotee attending the Mahakumbh should face any inconvenience. In line with these directives, every ghat will now be thoroughly inspected before being opened for pilgrims.
The BJP-led government in the state and the centre is all over being lauded for the star arrangements executed for the Hindu devotees amid the Maha Kumbh 2025. From infrastructure to crowd management, everything is being taken care of. However, this is enraging the opposition who in the past have become notorious for misuse of funds, stampede, and mismanagement during Kumbh Mela.
SP criticizing Kumbh arrangements calls it incomplete
Last week, the SP leader from Faizabad Awadhesh Kumar said that organizing Maha Kumbh was nothing new and that it had happened during his government as well. Akhilesh Yadav also has been constantly raising questions about the preparations for Maha Kumbh 2025 as he has claimed several times in the past that the work of Maha Kumbh 2025 is incomplete.
प्रयागराज महाकुंभ 2025 : भाजपा के कुशासन मॉडल का विशेष समाचार बुलेटिन
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) December 25, 2024
दिनांक: 25 दिसंबर, 2024
संवाददाता: पीडीए पत्रकार
समाचार:
देखो भाजपा सरकार के अचंभे, बिना तार के खंभे!
समाजवादियों ने तो ‘पहले ही एक गाने में कहा था ‘बिन बिजली के खड़ा है खंभा’ भाजपा राज में ये कोई… pic.twitter.com/HKAMaJyNpa
It is crucial to note that during the SP rule in the state of Uttar Pradesh, around 42 Hindu devotees died in a stampede at the railway station of Prayagraj during the Kumbh Mela. The incident happened on Mauni Amavasya when lakhs of devotees had come to the city to take a bath in the Ganga river. SP’s Azam Khan who was made the chairman of the committee of the Kumbh Mela in 2013 then resigned from his position but the said resignation was not accepted by the Yadav at that time.
Later it was found that the state led by the Samajwadi Party had not arranged enough buses for the devotees to travel. The CAG audit of the event also revealed that around 60% work of the Kumbh Mela organized back then was incomplete. The state had only appointed 5 divers to handle around 12 crore devotees, the funds allotted by the Centre for the religious purpose also remained unused, leading to mishap and major mismanagement. A detailed report on this can be read here.
Congress questions arrangement at Mahakumbh, forgets the 1954 stampede episode
On the other hand, the Congress is also criticizing the current BJP-led government for making massive arrangements for devotees at Maha Kumbh, showing disinterest in India’s largest public gathering and collective act of faith. In November 2024, Congress leader Kamru Zzaman Choudhury questioned the spending of the government on the upcoming Maha Kumbh event. He said that the BJP and the RSS were taking the government money in the name of Maha Kumbh and opined that instead temples should monetize the gold that they get as donations from the devotees.
In another instance, Congress MP Tanuj Punia had alleged widespread corruption in the planning process of the Maha Kumbh. Backing the claims made by Akhilesh Yadav about alleged incomplete arrangements at the Maha Kumbh, he said that such arrangements displayed deep-rooted corruption by the government. “Tenders are being given only to Gujaratis who then subcontract them to others. Corruption is everywhere,” he was quoted as saying.
However, PM Modi criticized the opposition for disrespecting the Indian culture. He congratulated all the workers, state authorities, and admin officers for making class arrangements for the Hindu devotees as he said that the previous governments had failed at organizing Maha Kumbh at this level.
“The previous governments did not give attention to Kumbh and religious pilgrimages. Devotees kept suffering in such events, but the governments of that time did not care about it. The reason for this was that they did not have any attachment to Indian culture. But today, the government in the centre and the state respect Indian culture. Therefore, the double-engine government considers its responsibility to provide facilities to the devotees coming to Kumbh,” he said.
Notably, this is not the first time when PM Modi has slammed the opposition for criticizing Kumbh. In the year 2019 as well, PM Modi while speaking in Ayodhya had targeted Congress for the stampede that happened at Kumbh Mela in 1954 during the Congress rule.
Speaking at an election rally in May 2009, PM Modi noted that when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister and he had visited Kumbh, a stampede had taken place where several people lost their lives due to bad arrangements and failed security measures. He also said that the media back then did not dare to talk about this loss of lives. The people who lost their loved ones did not get anything from the government at all. PM Modi said that such things don’t happen anymore because of the better arrangements in Kumbh.
जब पंडित नेहरु प्रधानमंत्री थे तो वो एक बार कुंभ मेले में आये थे। तब पंचायत से पार्लियामेंट तक कांग्रेस की सरकार थी।
— BJP (@BJP4India) May 1, 2019
तब अव्यवस्था के कारण कुंभ में भगदड़ मच गई थी, हजारों लोग मारे गए थे।
लेकिन पंडित नेहरु पर कोई दाग न लग जाए, उसके लिए ये खबर दबा दी गई: पीएम #DeshBoleModiPhirSe
The incident highlighted by PM Modi in 2019 happened in the year 1954 when India had just completed 7 years of being an independent nation. Today, when the Congress continues to falsely criticize the Yogi government for the arrangement of Hindu devotees at Maha Kumbh 2025, it must recall the stampede that happened back then due to the Nehru government, killing around 2000 Hindus.
What happened on Maun Amavasya in 1954
The Kumbh Mela organized at Prayagraj in the year 1954 became historically significant for the tragic loss of lives on the day of Mauni Amavasya. The darkest moments of the festival were marked when a massive stampede occurred on February 3rd of that year. Lakhs of people gathered in the city to take a holy dip in the Ganga river however, limited space and inadequate arrangements led to chaos giving a major push to the stampede in the presence of the then PM Nehru. Around 2000 people lost their lives however, the government record suggested that only a few beggars had died in the tragic event.
While similar tragedies have occurred at subsequent Kumbh Melas, the 1954 incident remains a painful reminder of the challenges involved in managing such large gatherings. The then PM Jawaharlal Nehru has been notably linked to the tragedy. As per the historical records published earlier, PM Nehru had visited Prayagraj to review the security arrangements during the Kumbh Mela. The PM and President Rajendra Prasad were also supposed to take the holy dip and hence, all the administrative staff was busy making arrangements for the visit.
On 3rd February, as the two were supposed to be there, VIP arrangements were made, resulting in stopping Hindu devotees from carrying on with Kumbh rituals. Barricades were deployed for the diplomats’ safety, however, a huge crowd of onlookers began walking toward the ghat. As this happened, people behind the barricades crumbled on the spot and then many never rose again. Several cries of ‘Save Me, Save Me’ could be heard on the spot at around 10:20 am that day. Massive chaos erupted in the city as more than 1000s lost their lives on the spot, some crushed others suffocated in the melee.
#LongThread
— Sanjeev Upadhyay🇮🇳 (@SanjeevUpadhy13) January 4, 2025
Dark Secret of Jawahar Lal Nehru about Kumbh Mela where 1000s died in stampede due to his one visit in 1954. (Link in Last)
When 1000 horrible deaths were hidden by the media and pet historians to protect Nehru's legacy. Cont…. pic.twitter.com/EBnbdrvwji
Reportedly, more than 2000 were injured but the then government led by Congress denied the death reports to claim that only a “few beggars” had died. Later a photo journalist identified as NN Mukherjee who worked for Anand Bazar Patrika published a few pictures of the event showcasing women wearing jewellery lying dead. The ornaments seen in the pictures portrayed that the women belonged to well-off families.
The lone photographer who survived the stampede published his eyewitness account in a Hindi magazine. In his memoir published by ‘Chayakriti’ in 1989, NN Mukherjee described the stampede, the horrors he witnessed, and Nehru’s presence at Kumbh on that day. He said that while the stampede was happening the government officials were enjoying tea and snacks in the government house.
“I stood on a tower near a barrier at the Sangam Chowki. At around 10.20 am, Nehru-ji and Rajendra Babu’s car came in from the Triveni Road, went past the barrier and headed for the Kila Ghat. A large number of onlookers, who had been stopped on both sides of the barrier, began breaking past the barriers down towards the ghat. A procession of sadhus was moving on the other side of the barrier. The procession went awry due to the influx of the mammoth crowd. When the mob came crashing at the slope of the barricade, it appeared like waves made by standing crops when a storm strikes just before they tumble. Those who fell could not rise again. The cries of “save me, save me” rented the air in all directions as people ran helter-skelter trampling others under their feet. Many fell in a huge well nearby, and no one could come out. I saw with my own two eyes, someone crushing a three- or four-year-old child. Someone was trying to escape by swinging on the wires of an electricity pole. In a bid to take his photograph, I had to go over fallen people. It is also surprising that even though more than a thousand people trampled to death, the administrative officials were ignorant of it because these officials were enjoying tea and snacks at the Government House (today’s Medical College) till four o’clock,” he said in his memoir.
The government burnt heaps of bodies to hide evidence
On the next day of the stampede, the government led by Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant made heaps of dead bodies and set them on fire to suppress the evidence. Mukherjee, somehow also managed to take pictures of these heaps and stated that he was called a ‘ ‘h******a’ (b*****d) for publishing those pictures exposing the government’s mismanagement during the Kumbh Mela.
“On the second day of the accident, the administration made mounds of bodies and set them on fire. No photographer was allowed near the site. To take photos, I dressed like a villager, carried a small camera in an umbrella, and pretended that I was there to see the body of my grandmother one last time. I fell on the feet of a constable…one official allowed me on the condition that I return quickly after seeing my ‘grandmother’. I ran towards the bodies and fell on the body of an old woman crying. Then I quickly took a photo of the burning pile of bodies. When the picture was published the next day, then Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant let out a curse, ‘Where is the Ha photographer?’ It was a big compliment for me,” he added.
Following the incident, Nehru urged leaders to avoid visiting the Kumbh Mela on the day of the royal bath to prevent such situations. Since then, greater attention has been given to crowd management and safety measures at the event. Despite these efforts, stampedes have occurred in subsequent years, but the 1954 tragedy remains etched in history as a solemn reminder of the challenges associated with managing such massive gatherings.
By the memoir of NN Mukherjee, is it evident that the Congress government back then whether the Jawaharlal Nehru government at the centre or the Pant-led state government in Uttar Pradesh did everything in their power to suppress evidence of the stampede by burning the mortal remains of the victims? Even a journalist had to pose as a family member to gather evidence of the body burning by the Congress government. In his memoir, Mukherjee also says that he had to beg the official to let him in and ‘see his grandmother’ and he was allowed in only on the condition that he would leave quickly.
The Maha Kumbh congregation, primarily, includes Ascetics, Saints, Sadhus, Sadhvis, Kalpvasis, and Pilgrims from all walks of life. The congregation in Hinduism, is a religious pilgrimage that is celebrated four times over 12 years. As per the official records, “the geographical location of Kumbh Mela spans over four locations in India and the Mela site keeps rotating between one of the four pilgrimages on four sacred rivers like in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, on the banks of Ganges, in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh on the banks of Shipra, in Nashik, Maharashtra on the banks of Godavari, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical invisible Sarasvati.”
This time Kumbh is being held in Prayagraj after 144 years at the Sangam of Prayagraj. According to the scriptures, when Jupiter enters Taurus and the Sun enters Capricorn, then Kumbh Mela is organized in Prayagraj. Massive security arrangements are in place for the largest gathering which is slated to begin on 13th January. The grand festival is expected to host over 45 Crore visitors, marking one of the historic occasions for India this year.
