What is the Iran connection to the massacre of devotees in Kumbh? The water of Ganga turned red with blood.

New Delhi: In 1909, a report regarding Kumbh was published in the Imperial Gazetteer of India. It said that in 1796 and 1808, 25 lakh people came to the Kumbh Mela. However, between 1892 and 1908, this number declined significantly due to major famines and epidemics like cholera and plague. This number came down to 3 lakh to 4 lakh. The British government always looked at the Kumbh Mela with apprehension. he/she wondered how this crowd came in such large numbers. Know the story of Kumbh.

During the revolution of 1857, Colonel Neel had hurled bombs at the Kumbh.

According to Cama and Maglian’s book ‘PILGRIMAGE AND POWER: THE KUMBH MELA IN ALLAHABAD’, the Prayagwal community associated with the Kumbh Mela was one of those that led resistance against colonial rule and the rebellion of 1857. At that time the Prayagwals launched a massive campaign against Christian missionaries and officials supported by the colonial government. This was the reason that during the rebellion of 1857, Colonel Neel targeted the Kumbh Mela site and got that area bombed.

Prayagwal community who participated in Kumbh was hanged

The Prayagwal community settled here was destroyed. Some were convicted and hanged. A large part of the Kumbh Mela land near the Ganga-Yamuna confluence was confiscated and merged into the government cantonment. he/she was declared an opponent of the British rule.

Roti, lotus and Naga Sadhu…how the rebellion of 1857 spread

It is said in the book that at the beginning of the Kumbh held in 1796, after seeing the gathering of 10 thousand people, 50 elephants and 25 camels, the British government sitting in London was worried as to how so many people had gathered without invitation. . Most of them were Naga Sadhus. It is also said that during the revolution of 1857, the work of uniting the people was also done by these Naga Sannyasis. Who was propagating Sanatan with bread and lotus flowers. It is also mentioned in Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s novel Anandamath.

BHU and VHP started in Kumbh Mela itself

In 1906, Sanatan Dharma Sabha held a meeting at Prayag Kumbh Mela and resolved to start Banaras Hindu University under the leadership of Madan Mohan Malaviya. The Kumbh Mela has been one of the centers of Hindutva movement and politics. Vishwa Hindu Parishad was established at the Haridwar Kumbh Mela in 1964.

Kumbh Mela was banned during the Second World War

In the book ‘PILGRIMAGE AND POWER: THE KUMBH MELA IN ALLAHABAD’ by Cama and Maglian, it is said that the British government was embroiled in a war with enemy countries like Germany, Italy and Russia during the Second World War. In such a situation, the British government sitting in London had banned the Kumbh Mela.

Rumor spread that Japan is going to bomb

A rumor was spread that Japan was going to bomb the Kumbh Mela so that as many people as possible would be killed. This was the reason why less crowd could gather in the Kumbh Mela of 1942 than before. This number was reduced to only about 20 lakhs. Citing these rumours, the British government had banned Kumbh. It is said that this rumor was spread by the British government itself, so that people could not unite against the British government.

When Taimur massacred the devotees who came to Kumbh

Persian historian Sharfuddin Ali Yazdi has written the history of the Turk-Mongol invader Timur. This history is famous by the name Zafarnama. In this he/she writes that Taimur’s armies massacred the devotees who had come to the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar on a large scale in 1399. It is said that during the barbaric atrocities of Taimur, the water of Ganga had turned red with blood. At that time Haridwar was called Mayapuri.

Stampedes have occurred many times during Kumbh, devotees have been killed.

Kumbh has also seen many stampedes. There was such a stampede during the Kumbh in Haridwar in 1820 that according to government figures, 485 people were crushed to death. A similar stampede took place during the 1986 Kumbh, in which 50 people were killed.

When a Muslim was made fair manager

Maclean and Cama’s book Pilgrimage and Power: The Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765–1954 states that the Kumbh Mela was held in Prayagraj in 1885, when a story made headlines in the newspapers of that time. At that time a Muslim Hussain was made the manager of the Kumbh Mela.

Hussain had arranged dancer girls for the Europeans

Media reports at the time said that Hussein had built a fleet of yachts decorated for the pleasure of Europeans. In which dancer girls, liquor and non-veg were served. After the arrival of these reports, there was a lot of criticism of the government at that time.

The British were surprised to see the arenas laden with gold.

According to the book, in the 20th century, the British government was surprised to see the crowd at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. Especially after seeing the Akharas. When the grand Peshwai of the Akharas would come out, the British officers would be surprised to see Mahamandaleshwar and the chiefs laden with gold.

There are estimated to be 50 lakh sadhus in India.

According to the atlasofhumanity, there are an estimated 50 lakh sadhus in India, spread across the country. There may be slight changes in their numbers.