New Delhi (PTI): A stampede at Haridwar's hilltop Mansa Devi temple, where hundreds of devotees had gathered on Sunday, left at least six people dead and several injured.

This is not the first time that a large number of people have died in stampedes at temples and other religious gatherings over the years in India.

More than 70 people have died in stampedes occurring during temple celebrations, at railway stations and at the Maha Kumbh so far this year, including Sunday's incident.

Here is a list of some of the major stampedes that occurred in the country over the last two decades:

  1. June 4, 2025: An RCB parade in celebration of the maiden IPL win after 18 years became a horrific sight, leaving at least 11 people dead and several injured in a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
  2. May 3, 2025: Six people died and around 100 people were injured in the stampede in the early hours during an annual festival of Sri Lairai Devi temple at Shirgao village in Goa.
  3. February 15, 2025: Eighteen people, including women and children, died in a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station. They were waiting to board the train to Prayagraj for Maha Kumbh.
  4. January 29, 2025: Thirty people were killed and 60 were injured at a stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to participate in ‘Amrit Snan’.
  5. January 8, 2025: Six devotees were killed and dozens were injured in a stampede as hundreds of them jostled for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala Hills.
  6. December 4, 2024: A 35-year-old woman died and a boy was injured at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad in a stampede where Allu Arjun’s blockbuster ‘Pushpa 2’ was screened.
  7. July 2, 2024: Between 100 and 120 people, including women and children, were killed after a stampede broke out at a ‘satsang’ (prayer meeting) organised by a self-styled godman, Bhole Baba aka Narayan Saakar Hari, in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras.
  8. March 31, 2023: Thirty-six people died when the slab constructed on top of an ancient ‘bawdi’ or well collapsed during a ‘havan’ programme held on the occasion of Ram Navami at a temple in Indore city.
  9. January 1, 2022: Twelve people died and over a dozen were injured in a stampede at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir triggered by a heavy rush of devotees.
  10. September 29, 2017: Twenty-three people lost their lives and 36 were injured in the stampede on the narrow bridge connecting the Elphinstone Road station of the Western Railway with Parel station of the Central Railway in Mumbai.
  11. July 14, 2015: Twenty-seven pilgrims died and 20 others were injured in a stampede at a major bathing spot on the banks of the Godavari river where a huge crowd of devotees had gathered on the opening day of the ‘Pushkaram’ festival in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh
  12. October 3, 2014: Thirty-two people were killed and 26 others injured in a stampede at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, shortly after the Dussehra celebrations ended.
  13. October 13, 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.
  14. November 19, 2012: Eighteen people were killed and many others injured as a makeshift bridge caved in, triggering a stampede during the Chhath Puja at Adalat Ghat on one of the banks of the Ganga River in Patna.
  15. November 8, 2011: Twenty people were killed in a stampede in Haridwar at Har-ki-Pauri ghat on the banks of the Ganga river.
  16. January 14, 2011: A stampede caused by a jeep crashing into pilgrims at Pulmedu in Kerala’s Idukki district left 104 Sabarimala devotees dead and over 40 injured.
  17. March 4, 2010: Sixty-three people were killed in a stampede at Ram Janki Temple of Kripalu Maharaj in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district as people gathered to collect free clothes and food from the self-styled godman.
  18. September 30, 2008: Between 220 and 250 devotees were killed and over 60 injured in a stampede triggered by rumours of a bomb going off at Chamunda Devi temple in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur city.
  19. August 3, 2008: A stampede triggered by rumours of rockslides at Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district left 162 dead and 47 injured.
  20. January 25, 2005: Around 340 devotees were trampled to death and hundreds injured during an annual pilgrimage at Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra’s Satara district. The accident occurred when some people fell down the steps made slippery by the devotees breaking coconuts.
  21. August 27, 2003: Thirty-nine people were killed and around 140 injured in a stampede during the holy bath at the Kumbh Mela in Maharashtra’s Nashik district.

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New Delhi: A significant political controversy has erupted following the Modi government's decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a move that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. The row was further fueled by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, who, while defending the name change, erroneously claimed that Mahatma Gandhi had made the devotional song "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" India’s national anthem.

The central government has rebranded the flagship rural employment scheme from MGNREGA to the "Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission," abbreviated as VB-G RAM G. The removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme has been termed an insult to the Father of the Nation by the Congress and other opposition parties.

When questioned by the media outside Parliament regarding the opposition's allegations, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut defended the government's decision by invoking Mahatma Gandhi's devotion to Lord Ram.

"How is naming it 'Ram Ji' an insult to Gandhi ji?" Ranaut asked. "Mahatma Gandhi made 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' the national anthem to organize the entire country. Therefore, this is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi? The government is fulfilling his dream by giving it the name of Ram."


Ranaut's claim regarding the national anthem was immediately seized upon by the opposition. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate shared the video of Ranaut’s statement on social media, tweeting sarcastically, "Come on brother, today we learned a new national anthem! The BJP is full of such gems."

Social media users also trolled the MP for the factual error. One user quipped, "Kangana ji forgot to mention that Bapu made this the national anthem after the country got independence in 2014," while another commented that the party finds people who "don't use their brains while forwarding WhatsApp messages."

Beyond the social media mockery, senior Congress leaders criticised the renaming on ideological grounds. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the move.

"The biggest irony is that Mahatma Gandhi was a lifelong devotee of Lord Ram and said 'Hey Ram' in his last moments," Gehlot wrote. "Today, the central government is making a despicable attempt to sideline Gandhi ji under the guise of the same 'Ram' name (VB-G RAM G), which is highly condemnable."