Pilgrimage and Power: The Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765-1954
Today the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, is not merely a major Hindu religious pilgrimage but the largest religious gathering in the world. In 2001, according to the government of Uttar Pradesh, 30 million pilgrims were drawn to the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna on the most auspicious day for bathing. In an impressive feat of organization and administration, the first mela of the new millennium was managed to the overwhelming satisfaction of most, with an impressive health and safety record. The loudest complaint had to do with the intrusive presence of the media. Journalists, largely representing foreign media outlets, had swarmed to the mela, intent on broadcasting to a global audience sensational images of naked (or wet sari- clad) Indians taking part in "ancient" religious rituals. Resistance to foreign interference with the mela has roots that go back 200 years. The British colonial state and the colonized had different ideas about what the Kumbh Mela represented: for the former, it was a potentially dangerous gathering that demanded tight regulation and control, but for the latter it was a sacred sphere in which foreign domination and interference were intolerable. In this book, Kama Maclean examines this tension and the manner in which it was negotiated by each side. She asks why and how the colonial state tried to manipulate the mela and, more important, how the mela changed as Indians responded to the colonial power. In recent years, many scholars have emphasized the extent to which the Kumbh Mela has been monopolized by the Hindu nationalist movement. Maclean seeks to situate the history of the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad within a much broader context. She explores the role of a pilgrimage fair like the Kumbh Mela in disseminating ideas, particularly political ones like nationalism and ideas about social reform. She argues that politics conducted in a Hindu idiom are not necessarily Hindu nationalist.
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Akbar akharas Akshaybat Allahabad District Allahabad Division Allahabad Kumbh Allahabad mela Amrita Bazaar Patrika Ardh Kumbh Mela argued Ascetics attempt attended bathing day Board’s Collections British Administration C. A. Bayly colonial Commissioner crowd D. P. Dubey Delhi exhibition February festival File Gandhi Ganga Haridwar Haridwar mela Hindu Hinduism History holy Ibid January January 14 January 21 Judicial Department Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela Report Kumbh Tragedy Inquiry Leader Letter List 44 Magh Mela Report Magistrate of Allahabad Makar Sankranti Malaviya mela grounds Mela in Allahabad mela’s missionary modern Muslim naga National nationalist Native nineteenth century North-Western Provinces OIOC Oxford University Press pandas pilgrim tax pilgrimage pilgrims Pioneer Places of Pilgrimage police political Prayag Samachar Prayagwals Provinces and Oudh Provinces Proceedings railway rebellion religion religious rumors sadhus sangam Secretary to Government Selections from Vernacular Seva Samitis snan triveni United Provinces Uttar Pradesh Vernacular Newspapers