Slow Lane: The message from Kumbh

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The message from Kumbh

Neerad Pandharipande

Even before the Maha Kumbh Mela started on January 13, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh attempted to transform the event that holds spiritual significance for millions of Hindus into a politically charged extravaganza. But in the early hours of January 29, the spectacle turned into tragedy, when a stampede left at least 30 dead and 60 injured.

In the wake of such a disaster, one would think that the government, especially one that claims to represent Hindu interests, would act with alacrity to provide assistance to the victims and answers to citizens at large. However, the Adityanath government’s energies were directed towards managing the public narrative.

It took about 17 hours for the administration to even acknowledge what had long been plain to the eye – that the incident that had occurred at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna was a deadly stampede. Those who followed the news that day were witness to grim Orwellian doublespeak: though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah expressed their condolences to the relatives of…

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