The stampede in Hathras highlights the callous indifference towards human life that is, ironically, often seen at religious sites and during religious events. A congregation of devotees should be the last place one would expect to feel unsafe. Or so the 120 victims who came to attend Bhole Baba’s ‘satsang’ must have thought.
The tragedy cannot be explained away by sheer numbers – otherwise, virtually every public rally, concert or cricket match across the country would end up with fatalities. The responsibility rests squarely with the godman and his team. The district administration should certainly have been more cautious in granting permission for the event, but criminal negligence on the part of the organisers played a major role.
They obtained permission for the event on specious grounds, claiming that 80,000 people would attend. The actual number, according to police and press reports, was 250,000. No amount of contingency planning could have coped with the sheer pressure of numbers. The organisers made no attempt to limit the number of attendees. Nor did they bother with crowd control measures. In fact, by deploying lathi wielding ‘sevadars’ to beat the crowd back, they may have actually made matters worse.
Bhole Baba, formerly constable Suraj Pal, is in the wind. He has not expressed sympathy, much less remorse. Nor is he mentioned in the FIR, according to media reports. He thrives on the faith of his followers, but he is not responsible for their fate.
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This insensitivity towards devotees is not unique to Bhole Baba and his entourage. It springs from the perception that the faithful dare not question the godman. Their faith binds them to their chosen Guru, renders them captive to his will. He can get away with practically anything, without losing his hold over his flock. The fact that he can count influential people – including politicians - among his associates adds to the sense of entitlement and invulnerability.
Consider the range of accusations levelled against high-profile gurus. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted of rape, as were Asaram Bapu and his son. Nithyananda Swami escaped a similar charge, by the simple expedient of absconding overseas. Bhole Baba, according to media reports, also faces accusastions of sexual assault. Other crimes ascribed to godmen (and women) include murder, kidnapping, land-grabbing, amassing arsenals and bizarrely, in the case of Ram Rahim, castrating some 400 of his followers.
None of this diminishes their image in the eyes of their adherents. The accusations are dismissed as false, and their moral authority remains unchallenged. Devotees buy into the godman’s divinity with an unshakeable, absolute faith and are ready to lay down their lives to defend his good name. As was the case with Ram Rahim’s followers in the wake of his conviction in 2017, when 38 people lost their lives.
To dismiss blind faith as brain-washing, and ascribe cultish aspects to the spiritual communities around the godmen, is too simplistic an explanation. Faith is an abstract, but is neither a synonym for self-delusion nor an antonym of rationality. The devotee sees nothing irrational in submitting to the guru, who is spiritual preceptor, guide and mentor. Being otherworldly, he is neither subject nor object, neither actor nor acted upon. But the sad truth is that, far from the perception of followers, most ‘babas’ are all-too worldly, and prone to abuse the faith of their followers!
Thus, Bhole Baba is not called to account for the negligence that led to death of over a hundred of his devotees. It is the government that has announced compensation for the families of the victims, and for the injured. The perpetrators, according to the FIR, are the organisers of the event and the Baba is not included. The chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, has called for his arrest, but isn’t clear on what the grounds she has based her demand.
Chances are that the event will be seen as a tragic accident, not uncommon in the annals of history. In the last 15 years, there have been over half-a-dozen major stampedes, all of them around religious sites. This has led to the suggestion that there may be psychological reasons behind stampedes. Religious sentiments may create a state of excitement and heighten the senses, making people vulnerable to panic.
All the more reason why the guidelines for crowd management laid down by the National Disaster Management Authority should be strictly followed, and organisers held responsible for any violations. For instance, a venue must be examined by the authorities before permission for an event is granted, to assess its people handling capacity. In terms of entry and exit of people, there can be no bottlenecks and emergecy exit routes must be clearly delineated beforehand. The number of people allowed must be matched to the capacity for police deployment.
A religious congregation cannot be an excuse to ignore public safety, and a spiritual leader who addresses it cannot pass the buck to his aides. The incarceration of high-profile gurus has made it abundantly clear that as far as the courts are concerned, no one is above the law.
Bhavdeep Kang is a senior journalist with 35 years of experience in working with major newspapers and magazines. She is now an independent writer and author
