The Mahakumbh festival was one of the most awaited moments in India. This is because most Indians celebrate this festival every 144 years. So you can understand that it was a really long wait for all Indians. However, this festival turned into what people are calling the Mahakumbh Stampede.
The festival got this name after several people died during the bathing ceremony. The Modi government is blaming the police for being unable to manage the situation. However, common people are blaming both the police and the government.
In fact, the whole situation has not only become a tragedy but also a blame game as well. So let’s see what had happened during this festival.
What Happened During Mahakumbh?
It was a really exciting day on 29th January, 2025. People from all over India had gathered in Prayagraj, UP in order to take a bath in the Ganges river. All of these individuals had been staying in this region for three days as tourists.
On 29th January, all the devotees gathered at the ghats of the Ganges to take a bath. There were millions of people present at the location. Even people from foreign countries were present as well.
However, the UP police found it hard to manage the entire crowd. This was mainly because most of the people in the crowd wanted the police to remove their barricades. They were also being unruly and did not want to follow the police’s orders.
Some even wanted to escape and run to the Ganges by somehow passing down under the barricades. When the police finally released the crowd, all of them ran towards the river at the same time. Although some people did manage to reach the river, most of them fell over one another. The ones who did not fall ran without any awareness of who or what was beneath them.
This caused a massive stampede in this region. All Indians are now calling this as the Mahakumbh stampede. This is mainly because it is the largest case of stampede in the history of the world.
The UP police and government said that more than 30 people died during this incident. However, most commoners are saying that thousands of people have died. In fact, the police did find thousands of dead bodies all over the Ganges ghats in Prayagraj. They found some on the river sides while some were present under the water.
The police are assuming that suddenly opening the barricades was a mistake. In fact, people started to run towards the river due to this. This caused each person to push one another just to get to the river quickly. The result was people collapsing over one another.
The police are also saying that some people might have slipped and fell due to the ghats being slippery. This has also been one of the major reasons for the Mahakumbh stampede. The slippery ghats caused many people to suffer head injuries
This followed by others stepping on them killed them instantly. Some people who probably were not good swimmers drowned while trying to take the bath.
The police, however, said that not every person died due to the stampede. They said that many people suffered heart and asthma attacks due to suffocation. As a result, they died on spot.
Reaction Of Most People Towards the Mahakumbh Stampede
The stampede caused massive outrage among every Indian. Everyone, especially young people took to the internet to blame the Modi government. They said that very few police officials were present to manage the crowd.
The people who somehow survived the incident are also saying the same thing. The UP police however, stated that their reaction to the incident was swift. They said that they were able to prevent further deaths by immediately halting the crowd.
However, this statement did not satisfy common people. They said that the police did not act as efficiently as they are claiming. Even the Modi government is also saying the same thing.
However, the people of UP are saying that the government is shifting the entire blame upon the police. Even the opposition is also saying the same thing.
Several Congress politicians said that Narendra Modi made the festival a horrifying tragedy. Narendra Modi himself has expressed sorrow regarding the Mahakumbh stampede. He has apologized online to the family members of the victims about this incident.
Concluding Remarks
Stampedes in Indian religious festivals are not uncommon. In fact, these have happened in previous Kumbh festivals and in many temples as well. Even Christian missionary visits in South India caused stampedes as well.
So it is safe to say that no one should blame Hinduism for this incident. However, people’s blind devotion and too much excitement did cause this incident. The Mahakumbh stampede also proved the UP police’s negligence.
It is also clear that the government clearly did not do enough to prevent this incident. Many commoners are also saying that deploying the military would have been better. Hence, it is clear that the government’s planning for managing the event was poor.
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