Maha Kumbh is a major Hindu festival in India, noted as the largest human gathering by UNESCO. Occurring every 144 years, in 2025 it was held in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh (UP), with an estimated 600 million attendees worldwide. This article examines the symbols of the festival, their political significance, and the blending of faith and politics under the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The focus of the study is on methodologies for achieving political goals, as opposed to the customary strategy of employing religion within the context of Indian politics; a stratagem that the majority of prominent national political parties have utilised.
Mythological background
In Sanskrit, the word ‘Kumbh’ means ‘pitcher,’ which holds the nectar of immortality (amrita). Vishnu, the Hindu deity known as the preserver, carried the pot when a mythological conflict arose between good and evil. During this battle, the nectar fell at four places: Prayag, Haridwar, Nasik, and Ujjain. These four locations host the Kumbh Melas (‘mela’ means fair). The fair is held rotationally every three years at these four riverside sites. The Ardh (half) Kumbh takes place every six years at Haridwar and Prayag. The Purna (complete) Kumbh occurs every twelve years at all four locations. Additionally, the Maha Kumbh is celebrated after every twelve Purna Kumbhs at Prayag, which happens once every 144 years – or so is being claimed by the ruling party.
Maha Kumbh 2025
This year Maha Kumbh was held in Prayagraj, UP. This BJP-ruled state is led by Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath, a militant Hindu monk. The festival ran from January 13th to February 26th, 2025. Recently, the timing of the Maha Kumbh coincided with the governance of the current BJP administration, led by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi at the center and the UP CM at the state level. This has resulted in political utilization of the Maha Kumbh to bolster Modi’s and the party’s nationalistic agenda. The fairground is adorned with numerous photographs and large placards of Modi and Yogi Adityanath, serving as reminders to devotees of the principal figures associated with this significant event.
The government website dedicated to this event describes it as follows:
“The festival is a testament to the human quest for divine and spiritual liberation, representing the belief in freedom from the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This gathering allows millions of devotees to immerse themselves in the holy waters of Ganga, Yamuna, and the mystical Saraswati, symbolizing a purification of the soul and, as believed, a path to attaining Moksha or liberation”
This year, an estimated 620 million people attended the festival, making the 2025 Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela one of the largest religious gatherings in history. The state government initiated 549 projects costing ₹6,990 crore (755.56 million Euros), with an estimated revenue of ₹25,000 crore (2702.28 million Euros). Narendra Modi inaugurated several Kumbh Mela projects, including 10 new flyovers and riverfront roads to improve infrastructure. Steps were taken to prevent untreated water from entering the River Ganga. Projects also included major temple corridors, Bharadwaj Ashram Corridor, Shringverpur Dham Corridor, Akshayvat Corridor, and Hanuman Mandir Corridor, to boost spiritual tourism. A chatbot called Kumbh Sah’AI’yak was launched to provide festival details and updates for Maha Kumbh Mela. It is a multilingual chatbot capable of translating real-time information into 11 languages. Posting about it on social media, Narendra Modi shared an image of himself wearing a saffron robe with white ash marks on his forehead.
Symbolic significance or political symbols?
‘What’s in a name?’ – The Maha Kumbh took place in Prayagraj for the first time since its renaming from Allahabad in 2018. The BJP won the UP state elections in 2017, where Prayagraj is located. ‘Prayag’ refers to the meeting point of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers with the mythical Saraswati river, an area called Triveni Sangam that is considered sacred by Hindus for the ritual bathing to wash away sins. Mughal Emperor Akbar named it ‘Allahabad’ during his rule in the 16th and 17th centuries. Allahabad was a major administrative and cultural centre during both Mughal and British rule. Similar renaming efforts have occurred in other places, such as Faizabad being renamed Ayodhya, or Mughalsarai railway station being renamed after Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, an ideologue of the Hindu right-wing nationalist organisation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). As the media adopts the new names, the old terminology and history are gradually being erased.
Further examples of the political use of the festival can be seen in a letter that was issued by the publicity department of the UP government, printed in both English and Hindi. The letter provided journalists with guidelines on approaching stories related to the Maha Kumbh event and suggested interview subjects. The government identified 70 themes for coverage concerning the event. It was distributed to selected editors in Lucknow, the state capital. Coverage was to focus on infrastructure development, job creation, revenue generation, stories about the Sadhus, and the use of AI and digital technologies in logistics. The letter also highlighted the scientific benefits of the ‘holy dip’, citing Union Government studies on its mental and physical advantages. The objective of this initiative was to cultivate a positive perception of the event that aligns with the political agenda. It is crucial to acknowledge the constraints imposed by directives that require the media to function within the parameters set by the governing party.
Another example can be found in the nomenclature of the event. Shahi Snan (royal bath) at the Sangam is now being promoted as Amrit Snan (bath to attain immortality), thereby signifying the profound religious significance of this ritual bath. The sequence of events regarding the ritual bathing at the holy Sangam also included several prominent political figures. The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, visited for a ceremonial dip, followed by UP CM Yogi Adityanath and his cabinet ministers. Among the participants were notable industrialists Gautam Adani, one of Asia’s wealthiest individuals, and businessmen Anil and Mukesh Ambani, who attended with their families. On January 27th, Union Home Minister Amit Shah participated in the ritual, followed by PM Modi. Media coverage featuring photographs of these elected representatives engaged in the religious ceremony illustrated how personal beliefs can intersect with professional roles. These are faith-reinforcing images that create an aura of indispensable ritual for every devoted Hindu while at the same time weaponizing against non-believers from within the religion.
Soft Power
The Kumbh Mela, recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage in 2017, is the largest gathering of pilgrims worldwide. This followed the recognition of Yoga in 2016. In recent years, numerous videos have surfaced depicting foreign devotees either embracing Hinduism or attending the festival for spiritual experiences. Notably, Steve Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell, and British rock band, Cold Play’s, Steve Martin, also participated in this year’s event. Additionally, the story of Muscular Baba, a Russian individual who adopted Hinduism 30 years ago and left his teaching position to reside in Nepal, has garnered significant attention. The aim is to demonstrate Hinduism’s appeal and influence on Westerners. The ability to organise such large-scale event with an international audience also carries a political message. Media coverage of the festival has sparked global discussions about Hinduism and the festival’s significance.
Symbolic Tweets
The saying goes that to become the PM of India, a candidate must win UP’s 80 Parliamentary seats. In the 2024 general elections, the BJP could only manage to secure 32 seats from the state. This decline was driven by the fragmentation of the Hindu vote towards caste-based voting, portraying the BJP as a party for higher castes and alienating lower castes who felt neglected. Narendra Modi tweeted at the festival’s start, “MahaKumbh is MahaYagya of unity.” He emphasized unity in his speech, aiming to bridge faith divides and promote Hindu unity beyond caste. This strategy seeks to use religious messaging to secure the BJP’s Hindu voting bloc nationwide for future elections.
The event has been observed to evolve beyond the confines of a mere festival, metamorphosing into a vehicle for the glorification of Hindu rituals. This transformation involves the deliberate extraction of the ritual from its spiritual context and its subsequent reinterpretation as a celebration imbued with ideological undertones. The strategic presentation employed often serves to obfuscate the underlying political agenda by presenting the festival as purely religious in nature.
Conclusion
The festival has been employed as a political instrument to advance nationalistic and partisan interests. However, it remains to be ascertained whether this has resulted in the accumulation of significant voter support sufficient to influence the electoral decisions of the populace in the region. Each incident is carefully orchestrated and systematically propagated to garner public support. For individuals who have placed their trust in the sanctity of the rituals, discerning between reality and spectacle becomes challenging. The current political administration has adeptly integrated this widely popular religious event into its agenda, making it difficult to delineate where religion ends and politics begins.
Suparna Banerjee
