View source for 1954 Prayag Kumbh Mela stampede

{{Short description|Indian stampede}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox event
| title                    = 1954 Kumbh Mela stampede
| image                    = 
| image_size               =
| date                     = {{Start date|df=yes|1954|02|03}}
| place                    = [[Prayagraj]], Uttar Pradesh, India
| reported death(s)        = 316–800
| reported injuries        = 2000
| cause                    = failure of [[crowd control]] measures
| notes                    =
}}
'''1954 Kumbh Mela crowd collapses''' was a major [[crowd crush]] that occurred on 3 February 1954 at [[Prayag Kumbh Mela|Kumbha Mela]]  in [[Prayagraj]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]] state in [[India]].  It was the main bathing day of ''Mauni [[Amavasya]]'' ([[New Moon]]), when the incident took place. 4–5 million pilgrims took part in the festival that year, which was also the first Kumbh Mela after India's [[Independence of India|Independence]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9XC9bwMMPcwC&dq=1954+Kumbh+stampede&pg=RA16-PA200 Kumbh Mela – Timeline] ''What Is Hinduism?: Modern Adventures into a Profound Global Faith'', by Editors of Hinduism Today, Hinduism Today Magazine Editors. Published by Himalayan Academy Publications, 2007. {{ISBN|1-934145-00-9}}. ''244''</ref>
 
The figures for the tragedy varied according to different sources. Officially, 316 people lost their lives.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kama |last=Maclean |year=2008 |title=Pilgrimage and Power |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199713356 |page=192}}</ref> While ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported more than 800 people died, and over 100 were injured,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/28/india.maseehrahman The worst stampede was in Allahabad in 1954, killing 800.] ''[[The Guardian]]'', 28 August 2003.</ref>  ''[[TIME]]'' reported "no fewer than 350 people were trampled to death and drowned, 200 were counted missing, and over 2,000 were injured".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071025060100/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,828666,00.html The Urn Festival] ''[[TIME]]'', 8 February 1960.</ref> According to the book ''Law and Order in India,'' over 500 people died.<ref name=sak>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3F5IAAAAMAAJ&q=1954+Kumbh+stampede 1954 Kumbh stampede] ''Law and Order in India'', by N. S. Saksena. Published by Abhinav Publications, 1987. {{ISBN|81-7017-216-0}}. ''pp. 81, 164''.</ref>

== Reasons and aftermath ==
[[File:NorthIndiaCircuit 250.jpg|right|270px|thumb|The [[Triveni Sangam]], or the intersection of [[Yamuna River]] and [[Ganges River]] and the mythical [[Sarasvati River|Saraswati River]], where devotees perform rituals, and the site of the great baths during the [[Kumbh Mela]]]] 
The 1954 [[Kumbh Mela]] occasion was used by politicians to connect with the Indian populace as the first Kumbh Mela after Independence in 1947, with more than 5 million pilgrims in attendance for the 40-day festival, at Allahabad, (today known as [[Prayagraj]]); many leading politicians visited the city during the event.

In addition to the compounding failures of [[crowd control]] measures, and the presence of a large number of [[politicians]],<ref name="hin">{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20080406075155/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/01/23/stories/05232512.htm Politics at the Kumbh Mela]}} ''[[The Hindu]]'', 23 January 2001.</ref><ref name="sak" /> a major factor contributing to the incident was that the Ganges River had changed course and moved in closer to the [[Bunding|Bund]] ([[Levee|embankment]]) and the city, reducing the available space of the temporary Kumbh township, and restricting movement of the people.<ref name="mis">[https://books.google.com/books?id=1pCXqynwwQcC&dq=1954+Kumbh+stampede&pg=PA21 Maha Kumbh] ''Mahakumbh: The Greatest Show on Earth'', by J.S. Mishra. Published by Har-Anand Publications, 2007. {{ISBN|81-241-0993-1}}. ''p.  21''.</ref> Ultimately, what triggered the tragedy was a  crowd surge that broke through the barriers, separating them from a procession of [[sadhu]]s and holy men of various [[akhara]]s, resulting in the fatal crush.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CO-AAAAAIAAJ&q=1954+Kumbh+stampede 1954 Kumbh stampede] ''Can the Ganga be Cleaned?'', by Brojendra Nath Banerjee. Published by B.R. Pub. Corp., 1989. {{ISBN|81-7018-544-0}}. ''p.  22''.</ref>

After the event, Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru suggested that politicians and VIPs should refrain from visiting the Mela,<ref name="hin" /> and were all exonerated, along with the government, of any wrongdoing after an inquiry.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070607031911/http://www.sasnet.lu.se/panelabstracts/22.html Paper 8 Title: Speaking to Subalterns/Subalterns Speaking: Pilgrims, Governments and the durghatna (tragedy) at the 1954 Kumbh Mela] by Dr Kama Maclean, School of History, ''[[University of New South Wales]]'', Australia.</ref> The judicial inquiry commission, set up after what was one of the worst crowd crushes in India's history, was headed by Justice Kamala Kant Verma, and its recommendations became the basis for better management of future events in the coming decades. This tragedy has stood as a grim reminder to Mela planners and district administrators.<ref name="mis" /> Over the years, the crowds have progressively increased, so much so that 80–100 million people took part in the 2010 Kumbh Mela, making it the [[List of largest gatherings in history|largest gathering]] anywhere in the world.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6226895.stm Millions bathe at Hindu festival] ''[[BBC News]]'', 3 January 2007.</ref><ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1137833.stm Kumbh Mela pictured from space – probably the largest human gathering in history] ''[[BBC News]]'', 26 January 2001.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081015173858/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/travel_images/article3597725.ece Kumbh Mela: the largest pilgrimage – Pictures: Kumbh Mela by Karoki Lewis] ''[[The Times]]'', 22 March 2008.</ref> Among the other fatal Kumbh Mela crushes, the most notable have been in the years 1840, 1906, 1954, 1986, 2003 (39 deaths), 2010 (7 deaths), [[2013 Prayag Kumbh Mela stampede|2013]] (36 deaths) and [[2025_Prayag_Maha_Kumbh_Mela#Incidents|2025 (30 deaths)]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Seven-die-in-Kumbh-stampede-two-drown/articleshow/5805305.cms?referral=PM|title=Seven die in Kumbh stampede, two drown &#124; India News |website=[[The Times of India]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030828/main1.htm|title=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/world/asia/deadly-stampede-at-the-hindu-festival-kumbh-mela.html?_r=0|title = Deadly Stampede at Hindu Festival That Draws Millions|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 10 February 2013|last1 = Harris|first1 = Gardiner}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
*There is a reference to the 1954 Kumbh Mela Stampede in the 1993 novel ''[[A Suitable Boy]]'' by [[Vikram Seth]]. In the novel, the event is called "Pul Mela" instead of "Kumbh Mela". It is also depicted (again as "Pul Mela"), in the 2020 [[A Suitable Boy (TV series)|television adaptation]].
*In the novel written by Kalkut ([[Samaresh Basu]]), ''Amrita Kumbher Sandhane'', the tragedy of the tragedy is highlighted along with reaction of the pilgrims. It was later made into [[Amrita Kumbher Sandhane|a film]].

==See also==
*[[2013 Kumbh Mela stampede]]
* {{slink|Crowd collapses and crushes|Crowd "stampedes"}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=qMtGAAAAMAAJ&q=1954+Kumbh+stampede]
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{{Human stampedes}}
{{Allahabad division topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1954 Kumbh Mela Stampede}}
[[Category:History of Uttar Pradesh (1947–present)]]
[[Category:Disasters in Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:1954 in India|Kumbh Mela Stampede, 1954]]
[[Category:History of Prayagraj]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in India]]
[[Category:Human stampedes in India]]
[[Category:1954 disasters in India|Kumbh Mela Stampede, 1954]]
[[Category:Kumbh Mela]]
[[Category:Nehru administration]]
[[Category:February 1954 in Asia]]