In India, the world’s largest religious gathering, the “Kumbh Mela” festival, has concluded. The total number of participants in the 45-day festival exceeded 640 million. Known as the “festival of festivals,” Kumbh Mela is held once every 12 years. This year’s festival is known as Maha Kumbh Mela and is organized once every 144 years. The world’s largest religious gathering in India lasted a full 6 weeks, with the number of participants reaching hundreds of millions.
The Kumbh Mela festival, which is the world’s largest religious event, has come to an end. The sacred city of Prayagraj, where the Ganges and Yamuna rivers converge, hosted the festival.
Since January 13th, the number of participants in the festival has exceeded 640 million. However, stampedes marred the festival. A stampede on January 29th resulted in 30 deaths, and another stampede in New Delhi, where people were attempting to catch a train to the city hosting the festival, resulted in 18 deaths within the same month. Despite these stampedes, it is noted that the festival generally strengthened the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.
Known as the “festival of festivals,” Kumbh Mela is held once every 12 years. This year’s festival is known as Maha Kumbh Mela and is organized once every 144 years. Kumbh Mela is listed in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list.