The nation grieves the death of over a hundred devotees, overwhelmingly women, of a new-fangled guru in Hathras, UP, in a satsang (congregation) on Tuesday evening. News reports said that the stampede was caused by a huge crowd of disciples headed towards the spiritual guru at the end of the satsang to touch his feet and collect the dust from under them. Yes, faith does that sort of thing to believers. The monetary compensation announced by the state and central governments would not compensate for the loss of lives. Given that such stampedes at religious events across the country occur at regular intervals, and there is now a plethora of godmen around, the authorities need to look at a change in the relevant laws, holding the organisers of such events responsible for any mishap that may happen at their congregations. Also, if the authorities were to provide for the bandobast, they must bill the organisers accordingly. Free lunches for godmen of all stripes must come to end if we want to ensure that such tragedies do not occur again.
