Tragedy at religious carnival in India

In the mega religious event of Hindus in India at Prayagraj, in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, 30 pilgrims died in the stampede in the early hours of Tuesday morning. About 90 people are reported to be injured.

These are official figures. The toll is expected to go up, and also that of the injured. The explanation for the trigger that set off the stampede was supposed to be the pushing around and going over the barricades as people had tried to take a dip in the waters, a confluence of three –Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati – the last one invisible according to believers – rivers.

It is part of the 45-day Maha Kumbh, which started on January 13 and will end on February 25. So far nearly 200 million have bathed in the river, half of the 400 million expected to participate in the ritual.

The mishap seems to have occurred despite the many administrative measures to keep the movement of millions of people orderly. The speculation is that it was the timely intervention of the police that had prevented the toll from increasing. While the government, including the officials, have been trying to play down the breakdown that had caused the deaths, critics have blamed the government for its failure in making the necessary arrangements.

There was panic and fear in the crowd. Women were wailing, and people ran helter-skelter. The scenes of chaos and confusion were witnessed at the hospital where family members were to trying to identify the dead bodies. The police had been trying to help people, but it was an overwhelming event for those affected by the stampede. The gathering of thousands of ascetics who lead the special bath in the river on holy days displayed restraint and kept themselves away from leading the traditional procession of those wanting to take the ritual dip in the river. While the loss of the families of those who had died remains irreparable, people are coming to grips with the tragedy. On the previous occasion of the Maha Kumbh that took place in 2013, there was a similar stampede where more than 30 people had died.

Many observers and administration members taking care of the arrangements of the grand event believe that the government had acted promptly and the number of those who had died was restricted. They also feel that given the magnitude of the challenge where tens of millions are participating in the religious carnival, the death of around 30 people should be seen as a minor mishap.

Not many agree, including those in the administration. They would have liked to prevent the minor incident as well. Though the government had made elaborate arrangements, a small slip-up somewhere had caused the stampede. And people will see it as a failure on the part of the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condoled the deaths.

It is a fact that the stampede could have led to a major rush of people and those who could have died would have been in the hundreds. There would of course be an official inquiry as to how the stampede had occurred because it will help the authorities to take precautionary measures to avoid stampedes, whether small or big.

One of the eyewitnesses, who had lost several members of her family in the stampede, Jagwanti Devi, 40, said, “There was commotion, everybody started pushing, pulling, climbing over one another. My mother collapsed...then my sister-in-law. People ran over them.”

The mayhem that had followed is predictable. But it is a painful and tragic moment for the members of the family who had lost their loved ones. They had come on a pilgrimage for an event that comes around once in 12 years, and they would have gone back happy and peaceful but for the bizarre turn of events.