At least 121 devotees, most of them women and children, died in a stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday (July 3), in one of the worst such tragedies in recent years.

However, this is not the first time when a large number of people have lost their lives in a stampede at a religious gathering in India. According to data collated by F T Illyas and others, 79 per cent of all stampedes in India from 1954-2012 took place in religious mass gatherings (“Human stampedes during religious festivals: A comparative review of mass gathering emergencies in India”, 2013), according to Indian Express.

However, such a tragedy is not an isolated event and India has a long history of deadly stampedes at religious gatherings over the years.

Also Read: Hathras stampede: UP Police files FIR against organisers after 121 killed, Bhole Baba not named

List of major stampedes in India –

January 2005: More than 265 devotees were killed and hundreds more injured after a stampede at the Mandhardevi temple in Wai town in Maharashtra. The accident occurred when some people fell on the steps made slippery by the devotees breaking coconuts.

August 2008: 162 people died and 47 were injured in a stampede triggered by rumours of rockslides at Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district.

September 2008: A total of 250 people were trampled to death at the Chamunda Devi temple in the northern desert state of Rajasthan as pilgrims gathered to celebrate Navratri, a nine-day festival that celebrates the Goddess Durga.

Also Read: Hathras stampede: Over 120 killed in Bhole Baba’s ‘satsang’, cops at accident site, ashram

March 2010: At least 63 people, more than half of them children, were killed in a stampede triggered by a massive rush for free food and clothes at Ram Janki Temple of Kripalu Maharaj in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district

January 2011: At least 104 Sabarimala devotees were killed and over 40 were injured in a stampede when a jeep crashed into pilgrims at Pulmedu in Kerala’s Idukki district.

October 2013: 115 people were killed and over 100 injured in a stampede during the Navratri festivities near Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district. The stampede was triggered by rumours that a river bridge the devotees were crossing was about to collapse.

January 2022: At least 12 people died and more were injured in a stampede at the Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir, after a huge crowd of devotees tried to go into the shrine through its narrow entrance.

Also Read: Hathras stampede: Death toll jumps to 116, CM Adityanath expected to visit Hathras tomorrow

March 2023: At least 36 people died when a slab on top of an ancient ‘baoli’ or well collapsed during a ‘havan’ programme held on the occasion of Ram Navami at a temple in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

July 2024: At least 121 devotees, mostly women and children, were killed in a stampede at a satsang (religious congregation) in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras. The gathering was organised by Narayan Sakaar Hari, also known as Sakaar Vishwa Hari or Bhole Baba. According to an eyewitness, thousands of people were there at the venue and when Baba was leaving, many of them rushed to touch his feet. As they were returning, people slipped and fell over one another as parts of the ground had turned boggy with water overflowing from a nearby drain.

(With inputs from Reuters)