Hundreds of millions of Hindus are gathering this week for what is expected to be the world's largest gathering of people, where a staggering number of devotees, tourists, politicians and celebrities make a pilgrimage to the confluence of two holy rivers in India.
A religious festival called the Maha Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Officials expect up to 400 million people this year — more than the population of the United States — to visit the site in Uttar Pradesh state over the next six weeks.
A major manifestation of Hinduism, the event has recently become an important political event with the rise of Hindu nationalism, supported by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing political party. It's also a huge logistical challenge for government officials working to prevent incidents like overcrowding and disease outbreaks.
What is the Maha Kumbh Mela?
The Maha Kumbh Mela, or “the great festival of the holy pitcher,” is the world's largest religious event. Based on a Hindu legend in which demons and gods fight over a jar that holds the nectar of immortality, the centuries-old ceremony centers on a series of sacred baths that Hindus say cleanse their sins.
The holy baths are preceded by processions accompanied by singing and dancing by people in vibrant costumes, decorated chariots and people holding ceremonial spears, tridents and swords. To participate, people travel from India and around the world to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, a sacred site said to be the terminus of the mythical third river Saraswati.
The timing of the festival, which will end on February 26 this year, is based on the astrological alignment of the sun, moon and planet Jupiter, which takes about 12 years to revolve around the sun. Smaller versions of the festival are held in one of three other Indian cities – Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain – about every three years.
How big is the festival?
The scale of the Maha Kumbh Mela is staggering. The latter attracted 120 million people in Prayagraj in 2013, according to government estimates. Sometime in 2019, the festival attracted 240 million people, although it was less important from a religious point of view.
Government officials said that this year, the city of about 6 million residents is preparing to welcome 300-400 million people. In preparation, the state built a temporary camp on 10,000 hectares with tens of thousands of tents and bathrooms, roads, parking lots, water and electricity infrastructure and thousands of security cameras and drones.
Many of these preparations – likely to be the most expensive Maha Kumbh Mela to date, at around $800 million – are meant to prevent. deadly crowds and disease outbreaks at previous festivals. Officials say the event is expected to bring billions of dollars to the state government.
To accommodate bathers, the government has also installed a platform made of sandbags along the 7-mile stretch of the Ganges. On Mondays and Tuesdays, millions of pilgrims poured down those steps into the river in the cool morning mist, praying for happiness, health and prosperity.
What is the significance of the festival today?
The Maha Kumbh Mela has always been an important symbol of Hinduism, although it was not usually politicized until the recent rise of the idea of India as a Hindu nation. This year's festival is the first since Mr. Modi's Hindu nationalist political party, the BJP, became the country's ruling party 11 years ago.
“It would be interesting to see PM Modi go,” said Arati Jerat, a political analyst in New Delhi. “This must be the greatest and most auspicious time to bathe in the Ganges.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also a strict Hindu priest, changed the name of the festival's host city from Allahabad to Prayagraj in 2018. The move, part of a wave of changes brought about by the BJP, replaced the Muslim name given by Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century with a name referring to the Hindu shrine.
In 2019, when India held general elections, it introduced the Kumbh Mela great political opportunity to Mr. Modi and his party to appeal to a buying audience of millions. Mr. Modi won that election.
The next general election, scheduled for 2029, is further away this time. smaller margin while his party suffered losses In last year's poll, he put himself on promotional posters for the nationwide festival, calling it the epitome of “India's eternal spiritual heritage”. social mediaconnecting the spiritual event to the country's national identity.
“The BJP hopes to use this to strengthen its Hindu nationalist base,” Ms Cerat said. But he added that it was unclear whether this would necessarily win the party more votes. “Whether it works or not, I don't know, but it certainly helps bring the BJP one step closer to its goal of making India a Hindu majority nation.”