Those who have been shouting themselves hoarse over Hindutva and that the Hindus are in danger in the country have been proved right, with the death of at least 40 devotees and injuries to scores in the stampede at the Kumbh Mela.

Several sensible individuals, who were on the ground at the Kumbh Mela from day one and those who could not be there but watched videos on social media platforms, had been warning that the situation was getting out of control and that a stampede was waiting to happen.

But those at the helm of the affair did not pay any heed to the warnings.

There is no doubt that the Kumbh Mela is a mega event, and every Indian should take pride that the country holds such an event. It is for the Hindus to decide whether to participate in the Kumbh Mela and to take a dip in the Ganga to “wash away their sins,” but they were made to believe that as a Hindu, one has to be there, and one leader went to the extent of saying that those who do not participate in the Kumbh Mela are anti-national.

The way the Uttar Pradesh government went about publicising the Kumbh Mela and appealing to the public to pay a visit, it was clear that for the government and those in power, it was going to be more of a tourism and political mela than just a religious programme.

It was an attempt to show that they were able to organise the largest congregation of people, and that too Hindus. It is true, nowhere in the world has such a huge gathering been seen either in history or in present time.

Organising such an event is not the job of the government. The organisation of religious programmes should be left to religious leaders and the government, and the administration should extend logistics support. That is not the case with the Kumbh Mela. It is clear that the entire event was taken over by the government, led by a yogi. The dominance of the administration and those in power was seen, while the heads of the various akhadas were given secondary positions.

There was no need for the government to spend thousands of crores of rupees, which is tax-payers’ money, on advertisements. The advertisements were more to project Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

It is time for Adityanath to decide if he wants to function as a yogi or as the chief minister. He has failed as a yogi, if one goes by the tenets of Hinduism. 

Instead of spreading love, this yogi has been spreading hatred. His contempt for certain sections of society is clearly seen from his actions and speeches. Among other things, he is still entangled in moh and maya. He is deeply attached (moh) and wants to be in the limelight always. It is this attachment to power that has stopped him from stepping down after the tragic stampede in which people lost their lives or their near and dear ones.

Adityanath is also a victim of maya (illusion). He is blinded by an illusion, hence cannot see the reality. It is the illusion that has prevented him from seeing the crimes against women in his state. The illusion makes him believe that the law and order situation in the state is excellent.

The moh and maya stopped him from acknowledging the deaths of the devotees when he first spoke to the media about seven hours after the tragic incident. At that time, he was into self-glorification, stating how over a crore devotees took a dip in the Ganga and stated in passing that a few people had been injured.

The Prime Minister, the union home minister and even the President of India had expressed their sympathies, on X, with the families of the dead, though there was no mention of the number of dead. Yet, Adityanath was silent on the tragedy till late in the evening.

The biggest blunder of the administration during the Kumbh Mela was to block roads, demolishing the earlier arrangements that allowed movement of devotees one way, which meant that lanes were reserved for movement in one direction. The roads were blocked to enable dignitaries to take a dip in the Ganga. Treating an individual as important at a religious event itself goes against the tenets of the Hindu religion, where all are supposed to be equal before the gods.

From the videos that showed the crowds at Prayagraj, it was clear that the Wednesday tragedy was waiting to happen.

Adityanath has also forgotten his dharma (moral law) and karma (law of cause and effect), as described in the religion. His dharma is to carry out his duties properly, which also means justice to all and equality for all. Karma should not be looked at as a law of cause and effect but also as the duty to carry out what one is assigned to do or has taken upon oneself to do. Adityanath has failed on those counts.

The various akhadas and their heads need to be complimented for following their dharma and karma by deciding not to go for the shahi snan (the royal bath), the right bestowed on them to take the holy dip, before other devotees. Having learnt about the stampede, they announced that they would take the dip after the people who had already gathered for their ritualistic bath. This helped prevent any further tragedy.

Yogi announced, after the tragedy, that devotees reap the same benefits if they take a bath in any section of the Ganga instead of coming to the Sangam. That rule should apply to all the VIPs. If sins are to be washed away, it will help many of them to continue to be in the Ganga lifelong.  

The author is a senior journalist and media trainer. He tweets at @a_mokashi