Haridwar Kumbh Mela :

The Kumbh Mela at Haridwar is a mela held every 12 years at Haridwar, India. The exact date is determined according to Hindu astrology: the Mela is held when Jupiter is in Aquarius and the sun enters Aries. An Ardh Kumbh ("Half Kumbh") Mela is held six years after a Kumbh Mela.

The fair has a religious significance to Hindus, but it has also attracted people from other faiths. Historically, it was an important commercial event, and was attended by merchants from as far as Arabia.

The last Haridwar Kumbh Mela took place in 2010; the next one is scheduled in 2021, while an Ardh Kumbh Mela took place in 2016. Haridwar is one of the four sites of 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 Melas at the other three places seem to be 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 the 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 even in north-western India.

Maratha era :

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.

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.

British Raj :

Haridwar Kumbh Mela by the English painter J. M. W. Turner. Steel engraving, 1850s.

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.

Independent India :

Recent Event :

Haridwar hosted the Purna Kumbh mela from Makar Sankranti (14 January 2010) to Shakh Purnima Snan (28 April 2010). Millions of Hindu pilgrims attended the mela. On 14 April 2010, alone approximately 10 million people bathed in the Ganges river.[43] According to officials by mid April about 40 million people had bathed since 14 January 2010. Hundreds of foreigners joined Indian pilgrims in the festival which is thought to be the largest religious gathering in the world.To accommodate the large number of pilgrims Indian Railways ran special trains.[46] At least 5 people died in a stampede after clashes between holy men and devotees.
Indian Space Research Organisation took satellite pictures of the crowds with the hope of improving the conduct of the festival in the future.