The Indian PM visited the Maha Kumbh festival just a few days after a tragic stampede killed 30 devotees
Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, took a ‘holy dip’ at the confluence of three rivers considered sacred in Hinduism while attending the world’s largest religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, on Wednesday.
The ritual of offering prayers and immersion in the ‘sangam,’ the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers, signifies an act of gratitude and purification.
Kumbh Mela is an annual festival held in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. However every 12 years the great (Maha) Kumbh is held, attracting millions of people from all over the world.
Almost 150 million people have attended this year’s gathering, which began in mid-January, including top Indian political and business leaders. Apart from Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and his family, Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, billionaire businesswoman Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, and global celebrities such as Coldplay singer Chris Martin and his girlfriend Dakota Johnson have participated in the Kumbh Mela.
Modi posted pictures of himself in the ‘holy’ waters on X (formerly Twitter) and stated that he felt “filled with a spirit of devotion.” After taking the holy dip, the PM performed rituals on board a makeshift platform on the river.
PM Modi offers prayers at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj
Modi’s appearance at the Maha Kumbh Mela comes just days after a deadly stampede at the event killed 30 people and injured a further 60, according to local authorities. Due to the stampede, the ‘holy dip’ was temporarily stopped, according to reports.
Amid criticism from the opposition the regional government of Uttar Pradesh stated it had taken “strict” measures to ensure the safety of devotees and has ordered a judicial probe into the deaths.
Indian National Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi attributed the tragedy to “VIP culture,” which should be “reined in,” and said that the government should make “better arrangements” to fulfill the needs of “common” devotees.
The festival has a history of similar tragedies. In 1954, the first Maha Kumbh Mela after India gained independence from Britain resulted in nearly 800 people being trampled or drowned in the river during a stampede as crowds of devotees rushed to Allahabad. The Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, in 1986 experienced a devastating stampede that claimed at least 200 lives. A similar incident occurred in Nashik, Maharashtra, in 2003, when pilgrims surged toward the Godavari River for a ritual dip, leading to 41 deaths and over 100 injuries. The most recent Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj in 2013 also faced tragedy, with a stampede resulting in 42 fatalities and 45 injuries.
