Bizarre, International, Religion, Science

Hindu Worshippers Rush To Wash Away Their Sins In River. . . And Crush 27 People To Death

800px-Godavari_river_at_Parnashala_BhadrachalamIndia has experienced another massive death count due to a stampeded at a religious festival. The latest tragedy occurred at a Hindu religious bathing festival on the bank of the Godavari River in the Andhra Pradesh state on July 14. It is a predictable (and avoidable) occurrence. Local police and government officials fail to take proper precautions and a massive group overwhelms organizers. In this case, as soon as access to the river was given, thousands stampeded to get to the water to wash away their sins. In doing so, they crushed 27 people (mainly women) to death and injured 40.


Hindus believe that if you bath in the river on this special day, all of your sins are washed away. Pushkaram is dedicated to worshiping of 12 sacred rivers and happens annually — once at every river. The Maha Pushkaram (“Great Pushkaram”) takes place once every 144 years.

Like other rivers in India, the Godavari River is highly polluted and is drying up due to industrial use. The carcinogens do not stop the desire to bathe in the river however.

Arun Kumar, the chief of the district, admitted that there were “inadequate arrangements” for the crowds of worshippers – a common refrain in India following stampede deaths.

This may be a case of not just inadequate preparation but inadequate accountability, particularly through lawsuits. Cities often respond to the threat of liability more than simple calls of humanity. There does not appear to be any serious liability in such case. Even if there are laws on the books, the Indian legal system is a disgrace with cases pending for years without action of any kind.

Source: CNN

15 thoughts on “Hindu Worshippers Rush To Wash Away Their Sins In River. . . And Crush 27 People To Death”

  1. Don’t know what all the controversy is about.
    They wanted to wash away their sins, and certainly the 27 there do not have any sins left.

    Put another way, this is how Nature washes away the sins of stupidity and mindlessness from humanity.

    Darwin awards for everyone.

  2. One thing is for sure. It wasn’t the Preamble, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Or the intent of the Founders. It was an egregious aberration and violation of law. Do you imagine that corrective action will ever be taken or will America persist in its illicit state, including unconstitutional amendments, ad infinitum?

    You know, if the United States had a quorum to pass the “Reconstruction Amendments,” the Confederate States, in fact, had seceded because, if the Confederate States did not secede, the United States did not have a quorum for ratification. Oops.

  4. Sounds like Lincoln.

    A religious zealot trying to wash away a sin kills a million people.

  5. Nick – I think they were killed for love of the perfect seat not love of the game.

  6. He needed a “perfect Act of Contrition.” Then nuns taught us a “perfect Act of Contrition” just prior to dying got us in heaven even if we didn’t get Last Rites. I was always skeptical, even as a kid.

  9. To the haters of religion and lovers of soccer, we know many people have been killed @ soccer matches for the love of the game.

  10. This is the same mentality that permits people to murder, steal, and commit all sorts of depravities and then ‘wash it all away’. This is one of the benefits of religion. “Say three hail marys and stop jerking off.”

  11. Among the greatest problems with religion is its inflexibility as conditions change. It seems that religious leaders should be able to advise people that their sins can only be washed away by CLEAN water. That one small change might cause people to make an effort to clean up their rivers.

  12. Before we criticize or look down on Hindus in some foreign land about their water rights we need to examine our own affection for sacred rivers. I suggest that you folks read Mark Twain’s book Life On The Mississippi. Or Huckleberry Finn. Twain was from Hannibal, MO and his real name was Samuel Clemmons. Or however ya spull Clemons. To say the words Mark Twain on the river is to make a river sounding. As a child in my prior life as a human I made some rafts from driftwood along the banks of the Mississippi and did some short downstream runs. We would abandon the rafts and hop a freight train home to Ferguson. When we got older we would skip the raft and just cross the river into East Saint Louis and go to London House East or Blue Note (two great nightclubs) and watch BB King play music or gamble or visit some nice women. I liked to go swimming with bow legged women but that was when I was Popeye The Sailor Man. I have been to India and Nepal and seen people worship the rivers there. One can go half way around the world and find people much the same as those in Hannibal or Saint Louis.

  14. The Mississippi is a sacred river. If you go to the place where it is joined with the Ohio you have the sacred place missed by Huck and Jim. Or was it Tom and Jim? If you go to Saint Louis for example there are thousands of people racing to the river every day. They are in motor vehicles and instead of jumping in the water they simply drive across bridges and look down for approval. When they get to the other side they say Hail Mary Full of Grace. Then they proceed to the cathouse in East St. Louis or whatever other destination they had in mind. So dont dis Hindus for flocking to the river. They just needs some traffic coordination. Mark Twain could show the how to build rafts. But dont expect the rafts to be able to go upstream.

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