Kumbh Melas are held every twelve years.

The
last Haridwar Kumbh Mela Ð a Hindu pilgrimage
and festival held at the Hardiwar (Ganges) river Ð
was held in 2010. This means the actual due date
for the ÒcurrentÓ Kumbh at Haridwar is 2022, not
2021. So how did it get advanced by one whole,

01/05
lethal year at a time when IndiaÕs second Covid
wave was expected? Epidemiological studies
indicate, of course, that second waves of
infection are always worse than the first.1 Let me
tell you the reason.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊIt was ÒadvancedÓ by a year, to 2021,
because the Òastrological configurationsÓ of the
ÒSun entering AriesÓ and ÒJupiter entering
AquariusÓ were available for 2021 this time.2 This
Shuddhabrata Sengupta happens once every eighty-three years because
of the need to reconcile astrological
Astrology, configuration charts to calendrical years. The
calculative arcana of this ÒadjustmentÓ is beyond
my capacity. I suggest none of you try working it
Mortality, and out if you donÕt want to give yourself a headache.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊSo, not only did the government of India and
Indifference to the government of Uttarakhand not cancel the
Kumbh Mela, which they could have easily done
so as not to endanger the lives of millions of
Life people by causing a Covid-19 super-spreader
event; they also need not have let it take place
this year at all, simply because this is the
eleventh year, not the twelfth, since the last
Kumbh Mela at Haridwar. They could have used
this extra time to create the conditions whereby
holding an event like the Kumbh could have
made some kind of sense, maybe, in 2022.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊInstead, they did much worse. In
e-flux journal #118 Ñ may 2021 Ê Shuddhabrata Sengupta

consultation with the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada

Parishad (All India Akhara Council, an
organization of Hindu Sants [saints] and sadus
[ascetics]), they ÒadvancedÓ the date, knowing
Astrology, Mortality, and Indifference to Life

full well the dangers of the pandemic, because

some astrological mumbo-jumbo told them that
this was desirable. Because, you know,
ÒAastha/Faith,Ó that beloved article that makes
the Supreme Court reward criminal trespass with
a building plan, is also what makes the
governments of India and Uttarakhand do what
they must to put peopleÕs lives in danger on a
grand scale.

A History of Contagion
The Kumbh Mela is a historically documented
site of contagion. Governments in India have
sometimes pulled off the efficient and
compassionate management of the staggering
public health problems posed by an event like
the Kumbh. The 2013 Maha Kumbh, said to have
been the largest gathering of its kind in history,
went off without any adverse event. This is
corroborated by an in-depth study of the
epidemiological issues, as well as preparedness
for calamities and disasters, undertaken by the

05.13.21 / 11:48:27 EDT

Harvard School of Public Health.3 But there was attendance.10
no rampant pandemic at the time. ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊIn December 2020, the ÒsaintsÓ of the
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊWith Covid raging since 2020, one doesnÕt Akhada Parishad expressed their
need a PhD in public health to guess that an ÒdissatisfactionÓ with the state of preparation for
occasion like a Kumbh Mela Shahi Snan (mass the Kumbh Mela. It is possible that the
bathing in the river) could be the possible Uttarakhand government was reluctant to go

02/05
epicenter of a second contagious wave of the ahead with what may finally have been seen as a
disease, which, given the conditions of the disaster in waiting and was using
Kumbh, would most likely turn into a tsunami of ÒunpreparednessÓ as a valid reason to not go
illness. That is exactly what happened at this ahead at the last moment. However, the Parishad
yearÕs event. threatened to stage the Kumbh Mela on its own
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊEverybody in India, and frankly, the world, is steam.11
now at risk as a result of some foolish decisions ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊOn March 9, 2021, Trivendra Singh Rawat
by a few ignorant men in Delhi and Dehradun. resigned. His successor, Tirath Singh Rawat,
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊNone of this should have come as a immediately said that there would be no rok-tok
surprise, including Narendra ModiÕs belated and Ð no restrictions Ð on pilgrims, and that with
half-hearted counsel that the rest of the Kumbh Goddess GangaÕs blessings, faith would triumph
be Òsymbolic.Ó over disease.12
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊChinmay TumbeÕs recent book, The Age of ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊAfter resigning, Trivendra Singh Rawat
Pandemics: How They Shaped India and the expressed misgivings over the turnaround on
World, includes a specific discussion of restrictions at the Kumbh Mela. The Hindustan
pandemics and successive Kumbh Melas.4 Also Times quoted him saying that Ògiven the rising
useful is David ArnoldÕs 1986 article ÒCholera and number of Covid-19 cases in India, there is a
Colonialism in British India,Ó and Kama need to be more cautious in organizing mega
MacleanÕs 2008 book, Pilgrimage and Power: The religious fair like Mahakumbh.Ó13 This suggests
Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765Ð1954.5 The that one of the elements that led to his dismissal
history of the Kumbh Mela and disease has been may have been differences of opinion with the
well documented over the years.6 The World Central BJP leadership, and factions within the
Health Organization has a monograph about Uttarakhand BJP, about how to handle the
cholera that includes a section on the Kumbh.7 Kumbh Mela.
There is even an article in the Indian Medical ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊIn April, as the event began, even the
Gazette from 1895 on the ÒNatural History of central governmentÕs Ministry of Heath and
Haridwar Cholera Outbreaks,Ó and a more recent Family Welfare sent mixed messages. On April 6,
paper, ÒA Comprehensive Review of the Kumbh ANI, a news agency particularly favored by the
e-flux journal #118 Ñ may 2021 Ê Shuddhabrata Sengupta

Mela: Identifying Risks for Spread of Infectious government, put out a report suggesting that
Diseases,Ó published in Clinical Microbiology and senior government officials had expressed
Infection in 2015.8 concern about the Kumbh Mela turning into a
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊSo was it ignorance on the part of the prime Òsuper-spreader event.Ó14 The report was picked
Astrology, Mortality, and Indifference to Life

minister and his advisers that led them down up, and published with minor variations, by many
this dangerous path? Or a deliberate political portals and magazines, including India Today.
decision taken despite knowing the risks? The very same day, however, the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare tweeted that the India
Timeline Shows Government Knew of Risks Today report was Ò#FakeNews.Ó15 The denial was
In an indication of its awareness of the public terse; it did not even say whether a government
health risks, the Uttarakhand government official had been misquoted. What it did convey
hemmed and hawed over whether and how to was the impression that the government of India
hold the Kumbh Mela over the past year. was in total denial mode about the possibility of
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊIn July 2020, the then chief minister of the Kumbh Mela becoming a serious public-
Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat (BJP), health emergency, and that it would go to the
assured the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad extent of cancelling a statement made by a
that the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar would be held senior government official.16
as per usual (when he was in no position to
predict what might happen in the future, and Political Culpability
thus not in any position to offer such The Chinese government may have been
reassurances). ÒHowever, the manner in which it responsible for a degree of understatement
has been traditionally organized may see some regarding actual figures in the early stages of the
changes depending on the coronavirus situation Covid-19 pandemic, but they took steps to
at that time,Ó PTI reported him saying.9 contain it, and they certainly did nothing to
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊIn September 2020, Trivendra Singh Rawat amplify it. The regime that rules India, on the
said that there would be restrictions on other hand, has taken steps that have led to a

05.13.21 / 11:48:27 EDT

huge rise in infections. This could have been Mecca, then Egypt and the Mediterranean
avoided. Unlike the Chinese regime, this time the seaports of Europe, before entering major
Indian state cannot even pretend to say that it European cities. This is all documented in the
was caught unaware by the outbreak of a transcripts of the International Sanitary
disease. Not only was it in command of all the Conference, which was held between February
knowledge necessary to know that there could and September 1866 in Constantinople/Istanbul,

03/05
be a second wave, but also, by letting the Kumbh then the capital of the Ottoman Empire.18
Mela happen Ð by actually scheduling it during a ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊIn 2021, when we know so much more about
time when it did not even ÒneedÓ to happen Ð the disease than we did in 1938 or 1855, a rational,
Indian government actively took steps to create sane government should have used all its
the conditions for a second wave. persuasive power to convince a bunch of self-
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊIt is bad enough that different government appointed Òholy menÓ that maybe, just this time,
agencies and entities are working at cross- they could put ÒastrologyÓ in abeyance and rely
purposes, sending contradictory messages (such simply on the calendrical calculation of a twelve-
as the prime minister belatedly asking for year interval between two consecutive Kumbh
ÒsymbolicÓ participation in the remaining rituals Melas.
of the Kumbh Mela, while simultaneously ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊWas this not one key instance where there
exhorting large numbers of people to come out to could have been a sensible dialogue between
vote for election rallies in Bengal). What is worse ordinary reason and faith ­that could have
is doing nothing when something is required to helped save lives? Perhaps, given that all the
be done, or doing too much when nothing is astrologers of India put together are unable to
required to be done, or just fudging numbers and come up with an explanation, based on their
telling straightforward lies (such as about death Òdiscipline,Ó for how and why a pandemic of this
rates in Uttar Pradesh recently). All told, the nature broke out when it did, this would be a
government of India, and the government of reason to let ÒastrologyÓ take a bit of a back seat,
Uttarakhand, have messed it up in a very big way. just for a while. This would be especially
But whatever else they may or may not have expedient when it comes to taking major policy
done, and regardless of whether eighty-three decisions like whether to commit government
years have or have not passed since the last Òoff- support to a super-spreader event.19
cycleÓ Kumbh Mela, there really was no
justification for advancing this massively scaled 1942: When War Led to a Curbed Kumbh
event by a year. Finally, have government agencies ever
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊAnd all this has happened when the effectively curtailed Kumbh Mela observances?
vaccination program has barely gotten underway. Is there a precedent for saying, ÒLetÕs not do it
e-flux journal #118 Ñ may 2021 Ê Shuddhabrata Sengupta

Again, there is no way by which anybody can this year?Ó Yes, there is.
rationalize holding mass gatherings at this time. ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊThe government of India did not make any
The same goes for elections, which an election arrangements to facilitate the Kumbh
commission possessed of a spine and/or a brain MelaÐMagh Mela conjunction held in Allahabad
Astrology, Mortality, and Indifference to Life

could have easily insisted on postponing, or at in 1942. No railway tickets to Allahabad were
least on curtailing rallies. But that was not to be. sold for the duration of the Kumbh, and in the
days leading up to it. This automatically
Why Let Astrology Trump Public Health? restricted the number of pilgrims who could
So, have Kumbh Melas been advanced by a year travel to Allahabad. This was done citing the
before? Yes, they have, in 1938, and in 1855, possibility of a bombing attack by the Japanese
when similar Òastrological configurationsÓ were air force Ð because Japan had entered the
in place.17 Second World War in September 1940. Further,
no logistical arrangements were made to
Are we living in 1938, or in 1855? Was there an accommodate crowds at the site of the Mela.
airborne viral epidemic around in 1938? There Attendance at the Kumbh in 1942 was very low.
actually was a cholera epidemic in 1855, and that There were no widespread protests by any of the
yearÕs Kumbh Mela did hugely amplify the Akhadas against the withdrawal of government
disease. People knew this even then, though support for the Kumbh that year.20 It was
their understanding of epidemics was much less understood, by all stakeholders, that
than it is today. The International Sanitary circumstances had dictated the necessity for a
Convention of 1866 in Istanbul specifically different kind of response.
looked at reports of disease spread from the ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊThis time, instead of cancelling trains,
Kumbh Mela locus. There was international Indian Railways ran special trains to
consensus reached in 1866 on Indian pilgrimage Dehradun/Rishikesh for pilgrims to the Kumbh
sites along the Ganges River as the sites where Mela at Haridwar.21 And the government placed
cholera developed, and then spread Ð first to advertisements in newspapers, on radio, and TV

05.13.21 / 11:48:27 EDT

exhorting pilgrims to gather in large numbers. ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ×
This essay was originally published in The Wire Science, April
23, 2021 https://science.thewire.in/health/leaders-listened-
ÒDeath is inevitable but traditions must go to-astrologers-so-haridwar-mela-happened-after-11-years-
onÓ not-12/.
Simply deciding to not run these trains or not
publicize the event could have made a huge

04/05
difference. But no.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊHow could it have been so? There are
elections to win, and the support of various holy
men is deemed crucial as ever, as are the
opportunities to make money off contracts and
advertising revenue for an event that can hold
millions captive to disease and to mammon. And
so, the men at the helm of the governments of
India and Uttarakhand laid a death trap. And they
knew what they were doing. Even the Òholy menÓ
were fully aware of what was going on.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÒDeath,Ó said Mahant Narayan Giri of the
Juna Akhada, on April 17, 2021, Òis inevitable, but
we must maintain our traditions.Ó He was
declaring why he and his fellow holy men did not
call for a curtailment of the Kumbh Mela
gatherings, and why, for him, it was going to be
business as usual at Haridwar.22
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊLess subtle minds will ask why this open
invitation to death is not being condemned on
every forum. Especially when the Tablighi Jamaat
was pilloried for saying much less. Truly subtle
ÒSanataniÓ minds will understand why. Good
Hindus, emboldened by Karma and the theory of
reincarnation, get more than one chance at the
game of life. Death may be inevitable, but for the
Holinesses, such as the eminence of the Juna
Akhada, it is not irreversible. You may die today,
e-flux journal #118 Ñ may 2021 Ê Shuddhabrata Sengupta

but the Karmic debt you incur by voting for

Narendra Modi will certainly bring you back
tomorrow. So why not, if you want it stronger, dip
a little longer in the Kumbh cauldron? You live,
Astrology, Mortality, and Indifference to Life

you die, you live, you pass on an infection, you kill

some more, you die, you live, you die, and so on.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊSome of us may not be so blessed, because,
in our belief systems, or, in our nonbelief
systems, we get just one shot at life. Accordingly,
we try our best to prolong the time given to us, to
try and preserve our lives and those of others,
and to persevere, by wearing our masks, avoiding
gatherings, maintaining as much of a social
distance as possible from the vectors of this
disease and the religiosity, and the
governmentality, that takes life, and death, so
casually.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊBut these, dear Indians, dear Hindus, are
your leaders and your holy men. They are your
mirrors and your death wish. Take a good look at
them. Because they are not looking out for you.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊThe stars, indifferent in heaven, feel no
need to laugh at you. Frankly, no matter what you
think about them, they donÕt even care about
you.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊBest of luck.

05.13.21 / 11:48:27 EDT

ÊÊÊÊÊÊ1
Abram L. Wagner, ÒWhat Makes
a ÔWaveÕ of Disease? An
Epidemiologist Explains,Ó The
Conversation, July 6, 2020
https://theconversation.com/
what-makes-a-wave-of-disease
-an-epidemiologist-explains-
141573.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ2
ÒHaridwar Kumbh Mela 2021: 83
साल बाद 11 साल में आयोजित हो
रहा कुंभ मेला, जानें क्या है
वजह,Ó AajTak, January 13, 2021
https://www.aajtak.in/religi
on/news/story/haridwar-kumbh
-mela-2021-is-being-organize
d-in-11-years-after-83-years -
tlifd-1191417-2021-01-13.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ3
The FXB Center for Health and
Human Rights at Harvard
University, ÒPublic Health at the September 18, 2020
Kumbh Mela,Ó
https://fxbkumbh.wordpress.c
om/.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ4
See Shahrukh Alam, ÒWhy ÔThe
Age of Pandemics,Õ by Chinmay
Tumbe, Deals with the Missing
Historiography in India,Ó Indian ANI, ÒWill Organise Maha Kumbh
Express, March 7, 2021
https://indianexpress.com/ar
ticle/books-and-literature/w hy- Parishad,Ó Business World,
the-age-of-pandemics-by-c
hinmay-tumbe-deals-with-the-
missing-historiography-in-in
dia-7207163/.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ5
David Arnold, ÒCholera and
Colonialism in British India,Ó
Past & Present, no. 113 (1986):
118Ð51
http://www.jstor.org/stable/
650982; Kama Maclean,
Pilgrimage and Power: The
Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765-
1954 (Oxford University Press,
2008)
https://oxford.universitypre
ssscholarship.com/view/10.10
93/acprof:oso/9780195338942.
001.0001/acprof-978019533894
2.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ6
Santosh Chaubey, ÒKumbh in the
Times of Covid: How WorldÕs
Largest Religious Festival
Turned Super-spreader in the
Past,Ó News 18, April 14, 2021
https://www.news18.com/news/
india/kumbh-in-the-times-of-
covid-how-worlds-largest-rel
igious-festival-turned-super -
spreader-in-past-3638048.ht
ml.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ7
R. Pollitzer, MD, Cholera (World 2021
Health Organization, 1959)
https://apps.who.int/iris/bi
tstream/handle/10665/41711/W
HO_MONO_43;jsessionid=EA8EF872140BC2DF6
8F760143EFFF3D7?sequence=1.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ8
Surgeon-Captain W. J.
Buchanan, ÒThe Natural History
of Hardwar Fair Cholera
Outbreaks,Ó Indian Medical
Gazette, August 1895
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
/pmc/articles/PMC5142980/pdf
/indmedgaz71281-0010b.pdf; S.
Siridhar et al., ÒA Comprehensive
Review of the Kumbh Mela:
05.13.21 / 11:48:27 EDT
Identifying Risks for the Spread expresses-apprehension-at - -YsXY
of Infectious Disease,Ó Clinical review-meet20210406142730/. dXsAHJQ3hGUTkd1uZ_k1TMiOTXe8
Microbiology and Infection 21, jHV-FbvYOtvo.
no. 2 (February 2015): 128Ð33 ÊÊÊÊÊÊ15
https://www.sciencedirect.co Ministry of Health
m/science/article/pii/S11987 (@MoHFW_INDIA), ÒThis news
43X14001074#bib21. published by @IndiaToday is
INCORRECT and FAKE,Ó Twitter,
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ9 April 6, 2021
05/05
ÒHaridwar Kumbh 2021 To Be https://twitter.com/MoHFW_IN
Held as Per Schedule, Says DIA/status/13794842704654049
Uttarakhand CM,Ó PTI, July 22, 28?s=20.
2020
https://www.indiatvnews.com/ ÊÊÊÊÊÊ16
news/india/haridwar-kumbh-20 NL Team, ÒIndia Today Rapped
21-to-be-held-as-per-schedul by Health Ministry for Running
e-says-uttarakhand-cm-bipin- ÔFake NewsÕ on Kumbh Mela,Ó
rawat-63633. Newslaundry, April 7, 2021
https://www.newslaundry.com/
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ10 2021/04/07/india-today-rappe
Press Trust of India, ÒHardiwar d-by-health-ministry-for-run
Kumbh in 2021 to be numerically ning-fake-news-on-kumbh-
restricted: Trivendra Singh mela .
Rawat,Ó Business Standard,
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ17
https://www.business-standar Raksha Panthri, ÒHardiwar
d.com/article/current-affair Kumbh Mela 2021: For the first
s/haridwar-kumbh-in-2021-to- time after 1938 Kumbh was held
be-numerically-restricted-tr in a gap of 11 years,Ó Jagran,
ivendra-singh-rawat-12009180 April 14, 2021
0614_1.html. https://www.jagran.com/uttar
akhand/haridwar-haridwar-kum
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ11 bh-mela-2021-for-the-first-t
ime-after-1938-kumbh-was-hel
on Our Own If Uttarakhand Govt d-in-a-gap-of-11-years-event
DoesnÕt Cooperate: Akhada s2021-21557327.html.
December 2020 ÊÊÊÊÊÊ18
http://www.businessworld.in/ Normal Howard-Jones, The
article/Will-organise-Maha-K Scientific Background of the
umbh-on-our-own-if-Uttarakha International Sanitary
nd-govt-doesn-t-cooperate-Ak Conferences 1851Ð1938 (World
hada-parishad/26-12-2020-358 Health Organization, 1975)
327/. https://apps.who.int/iris/bi
tstream/handle/10665/62873/1
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ12 4549_eng.pdf.
Nitsula Hebbar, ÒUttarkhand CM
Trivendra Singh Rawat Resigns,Ó ÊÊÊÊÊÊ19
The Hindu, March 9, 2021 Disha Roy Choudhury, ÒNobody
https://www.thehindu.com/new Knew it Would Be a Virus:
s/national/other-states/utta Astrologers on Pandemic and
rakhand-cm-trivendra-singh-r 2021,Ó Indian Express, January
e-flux journal #118 Ñ may 2021 Ê Shuddhabrata Sengupta
awat-resigns/article34027399 13, 2021
.ece; FE Online, ÒUttarakhand https://indianexpress.com/ar
Kumbh Mela: Here Is Why New ticle/lifestyle/life-style/n obody-
CM Tirath Singh Rawat DoesnÕt knew-it-would-be-a-vir us-
Want Any Restrictions on astrologers-pandemic-pred
Pilgrims,Ó Financial Express, ictions-2021-7137293/.
Astrology, Mortality, and Indifference to Life
March 20, 2021
https://www.financialexpress ÊÊÊÊÊÊ20
.com/lifestyle/travel-touris Vinod Khanal, ÒBritish Scrapped
m/uttarakhand-kumbh-mela- Magh Mela in 1942,Ó Times of
her e-is-why-new-cm-tirath- India, January 14, 2016
singh -rawat-doesnt-want-any- https://timesofindia.indiati
restr ictions-on- mes.com/city/allahabad/briti
pilgrims/2216734/ . sh-scrapped-magh-mela-in-194
2/articleshow/50575926.cms.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ13
HT Correspondent, ÊÊÊÊÊÊ21
ÒUttarakhand Ex-CM Trivendra Devanjana Nag, ÒIndian Railways
Rawat Flags Easing of Covid to Run Special Trains for
Restrictions for Kumbh,Ó Hardiwar Kumbh Mela 2021,Ó
Hindustan Times, March 15, Financial Express, January 11,
2021
https://www.hindustantimes.c https://www.financialexpress
om/india-news/uttarakhand-ex .com/infrastructure/railways
-cm-trivendra-rawat-flags-ea /indian-railways-to-run-spec
sing-of-covid-restrictions-f or- ial-trains-for-haridwar-kumb h-
kumbh-101615806301513.htm l. mela-2021-see-train-list-w ith-
halts-timings/2168775/.
ÊÊÊÊÊÊ14
Ashoke Raj, ÒKumbj Might ÊÊÊÊÊÊ22
Become Covid-19 Super Shivani Azad (@shivaniazadTOI),
Spreader: Central Govt Official ÒThe most influential and
Expresses Apprehension at powerful Juna Akhara has
Review Meet,Ó ANI News, April 6, cleared its stand that Maha
2021 Kumbh will continue till ÔMay
https://www.aninews.in/news/ 26,ÕÓ Twitter, April 16, 2021
national/general-news/kumbh- https://twitter.com/shivania
might-become-covid-19-super- zadTOI/status/13832672333469
spreader-central-govt-offici al- 81889?s=19&fbclid=IwAR0QoZTAIPstL7