NEW DELHI, Feb. 24 -- "They were inviting us here to die" is a sentiment appalling to hear, however one tries to contextualise, embellish or rationalise it. It is as evocatively chilling as Jews being herded into gas chambers during the Nazi regime. This statement was made by a farmer who survived, describing the crowd crush at the 2025 Kumbh Mela in India. Even the farmer realised that the event was grossly mismanaged and that the administrative priorities were focused on VIPs instead of ordinary devotees.

Driven by their ideological pathology, the Nazis persecuted those whom they considered the other and did not fall in line with their diktats. The people were forced into camps. The Kumbh is a mega event that has, in near history, neve...