Haridwar Kumbh Mela is a mela, associated with Hinduism and held in the city of Haridwar, India held every 12 years. The exact date is determined according to Hindu astrology: the Mela is held when Jupiter is in Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. The event possesses deep religious significance to Hindus as well as other spiritual seekers. Historically, it was an important commercial event and was attended by merchants from as far as Arabia.
The Haridwar Kumbh Mela had happened from 1 April to 30 April in the year 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. An Ardh Kumbh ("Half Kumbh") Mela is held six years after a Kumbh Mela. The last Ardh Kumbh Mela took place in 2016.
Early records
Haridwar is one of the four sites of the Kumbh Mela, the others being Prayag (Allahabad), Trimbak (Nashik), and Ujjain. Although there are several references to riverside bathing festivals in ancient Indian literature, the exact age of the Kumbh Mela is uncertain.
The fair at Haridwar appears to be the original Kumbh Mela, since it is held according to the astrological sign Kumbha (Aquarius), and because there are several references to a 12-year cycle for it. The Haridwar Kumbh Mela dates at least from the early 1600s. The earliest extant texts that use the name "Kumbha Mela" are Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh (1695) and Chahar Gulshan (1789). Both these texts use the term "Kumbh Mela" to describe only Haridwar's fair, although they mention the similar fairs at Allahabad (the annual Magh Mela) and Nashik (the Simhastha). The Kumbh Mela at the other three places seems to be an adaptation of Haridwar's Kumbh Mela to the pre-existing local festivals.
The Muslim conqueror Timur invaded Haridwar in 1398, and massacred a number of pilgrims, possibly at a Kumbh Mela.
Mughal era
Dabestan-e Mazaheb (c. 1655) of Mohsin Fani mentions a battle at Haridwar between competing akharas in 1640, possibly at a Kumbh Mela.
The Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh (1695), mentions the mela in its description of the Delhi subah of the Mughal Empire. It states that every year when Sun entered Aries during Vaisakhi, people from nearby rural areas would assemble at Haridwar. Once in 12 years, when the Sun entered Aquarius (Kumbh), people from far away would assemble at Haridwar. On this occasion, bathing in the river, giving alms and shaving hair would be considered as acts of merit. People would throw the bones of their dead into the river for their salvation of the deceased.
The Chahar Gulshan (1759) also states that the mela at Haridwar is held in the Baisakh month when Jupiter enters Aquarius. It specifically mentions that the fair was called Kumbh Mela and that lakhs of laymen, faqirs and sanyasis attended it. It states that the local sanyasis attacked the fakirs of Prayag who came to attend the mela.
By the mid-18th century, the Haridwar Kumbh Mela had become a major commercial event in north-western India.
Maratha era
1760: Massacre of Vaishnavites
The 1760 festival saw a violent clash between the Shaivite Gosains and the Vaishnavite Bairagis (ascetics). After the 1760 clash, the Vaishnavite sadhus were not allowed to bathe at Haridwar for years, until the British took control of the festival and disarmed the Saivites. According to an 1808 account by East India Company geographer Captain Francis Raper, 18,000 Bairagis were killed in the 1760 clash. Raper stated this in context of stressing the importance of deploying security forces at the event. In 1888, the District Magistrate of Allahabad wrote that the number of deaths "must doubtless have been greatly exaggerated" by Raper. According to historian Michael Cook, the number could have been 1800.
1783: Cholera epidemic
A cholera epidemic broke out during the 1783 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. An estimated 1–2 million visitors attended the fair this year. Out of these, more than 20,000 died of cholera within the first eight days. The epidemic was confined to the Haridwar city and ended with the fair. The neighbouring village of Jwalapur (now a town), which was around 8 miles away from the city, did not see any cases of cholera.
1796: Massacre of the Shaivites
The first eyewitness British account of the Kumbh mela was an article by Captain Thomas Hardwicke in Asiatick Researches. At this time, Haridwar was part of the Maratha territory. Based on a register of taxes collected from the pilgrims, Hardwicke estimated the scale of the mela at 2-2.5 million people. According to Hardwicke, the Shaivite Gosains were the most dominant, "in point of numbers and power". The next most powerful sect were the Vaishnavite Bairagis. The Gosains carried swords, shields and managed the entire Mela. Their mahants held daily councils to hear and decide on all the complaints. The Gosains levied and collected the taxes, and did not remit any money to the Maratha treasury.
The Sikh contingent at the mela included a large number of Udasi ascetics, who were accompanied by around 12,000-14,000 Khalsa cavalrymen. The cavalry was led by Sahib Singh of Patiala, Rai Singh Bhangi and Sher Singh Bhangi. The Sikh soldiers encamped at Jwalapur, while the Udasis chose a place close to the festival site for their camp. The Udasi chief erected their flag on the selected site, without taking permission from the Gosain mahant. Offended by this, the Gosains pulled down the Udasis' flag and drove them away. When Udasis resisted, the Gosains responded violently, and plundered the Udasi camp. The Udasi chief then complained to Sahib Singh. The three Sikh chiefs held a meeting, and sent a vakeel (agent) to the Gosain mahants, demanding retribution for the plundered material, plus free access to the river. The chief Mahant agreed to the Sikh demands, and there was no confrontation between the two groups over the next few days. However, at about 8 am on 10 April 1796 (the last day of the Mela), Sikhs attacked the Gosains and other non-Udasi pilgrims. Prior to this, they had moved the women and children in their camp to a village near Haridwar. The Sikhs killed around 500 Gosains, including Maunpuri, one of the mahants. Many drowned while crossing the river in an attempt to escape the massacre. The British Captain Murray, whose battalion was stationed at one of the ghats, sent two companies of sepoys to check the advance of Sikh cavalry. The Sikhs left by 3 pm; they had lost around 20 men in the clash. The next morning, the pilgrims offered prayers for the English, who they believed, had been instrumental in dispersing the Sikhs.Relations with Other Misals
Company rule
In 1804, the Marathas ceded the Saharanpur district (of which Haridwar was a part at that time) to the East India Company. Before the Company rule, the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar was managed by the akharas (sects) of Hindu ascetics known as the sadhus. The Marathas taxed the vehicles and goods coming to all other melas, but during the Kumbh Mela, they temporarily transferred all the power to the akharas. The Sadhus were both traders and warriors. Besides collecting taxes, they also carried out policing and judicial duties. The Company administration severely limited the trader-warrior role of the Sadhus, who were increasingly reduced to begging.
1808 Kumbh Mela East India Company geographer Captain Francis Raper published an account of the 1806 Kumbh in Asiatick Researches. To prevent a re-occurrence of the 1796 violence, an armed detachment of "greater strength than usual" was deployed. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was scheduled to visit the Kumbh in April 1808, and the Company deployed its Lahore envoy Charles Metcalfe to receive him at Haridwar. However, Singh cancelled his visit.
1814 Ardh Kumbh Mela Baptist missionary John Chamberlain, who was in the service of Begum Samru at Sirdhana, preached at the 1814 Ardh Kumbh. He spent 14 days in Haridwar; for the first 4–5 days he attracted a few hundred Hindus. By the tenth day, his congregation had increased to at least 8 thousand. He preached in Hindi, which according to him, both Bengalis and Hindustani speakers understood; but he had difficulty communicating with the Punjabi-speaking Sikhs. Chamberlain mentioned that the fair was attended by "multitudes of every religious order", and that a number of visitors came there because of "mercantile considerations". He was particularly astonished to see a large number of Sikhs, who according to him, outnumbered the Hindus. He also saw several Europeans, who came riding elephants for the novelty factor. According to the missionary records, an estimated 500,000 people assembled at Haridwar. Secretary of Government Mr Ricketts complained to the Government about Chamberlain's preaching to the natives, fearing that it might result in trouble. The Government asked Begum Sumroo to dismiss Chamberlain from her service. The Begum made attempts to retain him, but finally, complied with the Government's demand.
1820 Kumbh Mela A stampede left 430 dead during the 1820 mela. Subsequently, the Company government undertook extensive and expensive repair works on the bathing ghats. This move reportedly impressed the natives. The Asiatic Journal quotes one pilgrim as: "May your rule be blessed! May your reign extend for ages to come! You have produced a magnificent kumbh! You have turned the kali yuga into an age of truth and justice!".
British Raj
After the 1857 uprising, the East India Company was dissolved and its territories came under the control of British crown. British civil servant Robert Montgomery Martin, in his book The Indian Empire (1858), remarked that "it is difficult to convey an adequate idea of the grandeur and beauty" of the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar. According to him, the visitors at the fair included people from a large number of races and regions. Besides priests, soldiers, and religious mendicants, the fair was attended by a large number of merchants: horse traders, elephant dealers, grain merchants (banias), confectioners (Halwais), cloth merchants and toy sellers. The horse dealers came from as far as Bukhara, Kabul, Turkistan, Arabia and Persia. Besides horses and elephants, several other animals were sold at the fair, including "bears, leopards, tigers, deer of all kinds, monkeys, Persian greyhounds, beautiful cats, and rare birds". Europeans also sold their merchandise at the fair. The fair was also attended by the dancing girls, who performed for the rich visitors.
Several Hindu rajas, Muslim Nawabs and the Sikh royals also visited the fair. Begum Samru of Sardhana would often come to the fair, with her retinue of 1,000 horse cavalry and 1,500 infantry. A few Christian missionaries also visited the Mela, and distributed copies of the Bible translated into "the various dialects of the East".
Martin mentions that the Brahmins collected the taxes, but did not perform any sacerdotal role in the bathing rites, which were performed without any priestly ceremonies. He states that in the earlier years, a number of people died in stampedes as devotees rushed towards the river bank. However, the danger of stampedes had reduced since the government constructed a new ghat and widened the road leading to it.
The police and civil magistrates were deployed to maintain law and order. The Sirmoor battalion of Gurkha soldiers from Dehradun was deployed to maintain peace.
1867: Improved sanitation and traffic management
The pilgrim camp for the 1867 Mela was located a 9-mile strip of river-side land, and varied 2 to 6 miles in width at different places. According to a rough census of the pilgrim camp, taken on the night of 9 April 1867 by the British, the number of pilgrims was 2,855,966. The total number of pilgrims, including those who visited the camp before and after 9 April, was estimated at 3 million.