Mahakumbh, Misinformation, and the Politics of Hatred: A Reality Check

Mahakumbh, the biggest religious event is currently underway in Prayagraj. Since the announcement was made, the Uttar Pradesh government left no stone unturned to make it a successful event. On top of that a Yogi leading the state made the event like never before. The slew of arrangements from CCTVs to paramilitary deployment to full use of technology, the event was receiving accolades from all walks of life.

But as all the institutions came together to make this event successful, there were some people who were not so happy. The entire opposition refrained from speaking well of the arrangements till the first fortnight, but as soon as an unfortunate stampede occurred, those who remained tight-lipped so far started speaking ill of the government. Being an opposition undoubtedly gives them the right to question the government but exploiting a human crisis for political gains can’t be justified at any cost.

After the stampede led to 30 casualties, Samajwadi Party started preposterous insinuation.

Their leader Jaya Bachhan said thousands of bodies were thrown in the River Ganga to cover the alleged mass casualty. Same line was towed by SP general secretary and MP Ram Gopal Yadav who claimed that 15,000 people went missing in stampede. He was hinting that they died in stampedes and their bodies were disposed of.

After a series of such brazen, far-fetched and alarmist allegations, former UP CM and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said a similar thing during the Budget Session in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The statements are not only misguided but baseless accusations made to incite fear in the devotees so that somehow the Mahakumbh ends up in failure.

However, contrary to their expectations, the number of devotees in the next Amrit Snan, that is, Basant Panchami increased even more. Over 35 crore devotees have taken a holy dip so far.

Although, the life of even one is precious and requires accountability, when the opposition starts such pity politics, they lose their right to raise questions on the government.

When Jaya Bachhan like leaders utter such a thing, it is not a serious issue as they have little scope of their ideas and political direction but when leaders like Ram Gopal and Akhilesh Yadav utter such baseless accusations, this raises questions on their credibility.

Leaving the politics around the stampede behind for a second, it is unimaginable that 15,000 people went missing and there is no such media report and no families seeking answers from the government.

Whatever allegations one makes, it is practically impossible that 15,0000 people go missing in a single day in a single event and it was suppressed by administration when crores of other fellow devotees were present there.

Also Read: MahaKumbh Mela: Where Rituals and Holy Dips Embody the Soul of India’s Spiritual Legacy

Regarding Jaya Bachhan’s statement that bodies were thrown and were floating in the river, why is there no such complaint with the police? Leave police why there is no visual of such horrific landscape when crore of common people with their phones were present on site. Or is it that the Samajwadis think that crores of devotees present in Mahakumbh that day were BJP workers?

There may be some people missing and there is a way to raise such sensitive issues but thousands of bodies floating is nothing more than an irresponsible statement that can only be given in bitter hatred against the government and mega Kumbh event of Hindus.

And yes there were bodies floating in the river but that was not in Ganga in 2025 but in Saryu in 1992 when her own party’s government massacred karsevaks.

Hindus can never forget that those who are showing sympathy today were the ones who not only mercilessly killed karsevaks but tied stones to their bodies and threw them into Saryu to hide the blood on their hands.

Nonetheless, if Samajwadis are so sure of these alleged illicit activities by the government and the whole system is hiding it then why is it not moving to the court?

The reason for not doing so is clear, public fear mongering is an easy game that neither seeks justice nor needs evidence but in court evidence is needed.

It must be noted here that it is not just about Samajwadi Party, in fact, it is about the hate campaign against Hinduism.

This so-called opposition sees united Hindus as a threat to their existence. They exist because of caste division among Hindus. But Mahakumbh, a unified Hindu gathering, has haunted them since inception. Above all, the praises that CM Yogi was getting from across the Hindu community was even more threatening for them and hence, in their political interests, they started spewing venom.

It was difficult to divide the Hindus when they were celebrating their religious and traditional mega event so they found a way to malign the whole Kumbh mela.

This parasitic politics needs to be called out and busted at the outset. Fear mongering needs to be done away with as soon as possible otherwise the leaders like them will only daunt Hinduism.