The Fort Worth Press - India's Modi takes ritual dip at Hindu mega-festival

USD -
AED 3.673042
AFN 73.115207
ALL 94.299186
AMD 398.437872
ANG 1.797019
AOA 914.503981
ARS 1053.827213
AUD 1.573564
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.70397
BAM 1.862933
BBD 2.01324
BDT 121.150641
BGN 1.862933
BHD 0.376625
BIF 2952.421775
BMD 1
BND 1.33781
BOB 6.889556
BRL 5.704704
BSD 0.997095
BTN 86.442825
BWP 13.753393
BYN 3.263133
BYR 19600
BZD 2.002858
CAD 1.41895
CDF 2866.000362
CHF 0.899766
CLF 0.024543
CLP 941.83931
CNY 7.254041
CNH 7.259304
COP 4125.160737
CRC 505.596038
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 105.02929
CZK 23.852704
DJF 177.558699
DKK 7.111125
DOP 61.980283
DZD 135.26218
EGP 50.596752
ERN 15
ETB 127.714435
EUR 0.952604
FJD 2.297304
FKP 0.803654
GBP 0.794565
GEL 2.82504
GGP 0.803654
GHS 15.405058
GIP 0.803654
GMD 71.503851
GNF 8620.279087
GTQ 7.69729
GYD 208.610754
HKD 7.784504
HNL 25.419822
HRK 7.225076
HTG 130.466257
HUF 383.42504
IDR 16179.85
ILS 3.54655
IMP 0.803654
INR 86.630504
IQD 1306.186598
IRR 42087.503816
ISK 140.050386
JEP 0.803654
JMD 157.451064
JOD 0.709504
JPY 152.34504
KES 128.970805
KGS 87.450384
KHR 3991.998857
KMF 468.603794
KPW 900.090061
KRW 1441.430383
KWD 0.30832
KYD 0.830881
KZT 495.727961
LAK 21669.762347
LBP 89289.612802
LKR 294.680192
LRD 198.923656
LSL 18.321665
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.892127
MAD 9.954565
MDL 18.645521
MGA 4696.861456
MKD 58.608373
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3461.151901
MOP 7.993904
MRU 39.694242
MUR 46.470378
MVR 15.403739
MWK 1728.818403
MXN 20.306704
MYR 4.434504
MZN 63.903729
NAD 18.321665
NGN 1515.000344
NIO 36.690956
NOK 11.122604
NPR 138.30833
NZD 1.744136
OMR 0.38475
PAB 0.997095
PEN 3.704529
PGK 4.010097
PHP 57.695038
PKR 278.325761
PLN 3.97197
PYG 7856.360432
QAR 3.634995
RON 4.743404
RSD 111.568319
RUB 90.965376
RWF 1398.961756
SAR 3.75053
SBD 8.432716
SCR 14.38015
SDG 601.000339
SEK 10.693204
SGD 1.339104
SHP 0.823587
SLE 22.750371
SLL 20969.505638
SOS 569.795685
SRD 35.223038
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.724103
SYP 13003.016048
SZL 18.317855
THB 33.738038
TJS 10.883269
TMT 3.5
TND 3.157022
TOP 2.342104
TRY 36.275504
TTD 6.766681
TWD 32.680504
TZS 2592.46559
UAH 41.490784
UGX 3669.095585
UYU 43.310949
UZS 12955.184074
VES 61.976954
VND 25390
VUV 123.663246
WST 2.837369
XAF 624.810211
XAG 0.031102
XAU 0.000347
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.763442
XOF 624.810211
XPF 113.597181
YER 248.000331
ZAR 18.37258
ZMK 9001.203587
ZMW 28.093537
ZWL 321.999592
  • BCE

    0.1900

    23.82

    +0.8%

  • RELX

    -0.8400

    51.07

    -1.64%

  • BCC

    1.0300

    121.63

    +0.85%

  • NGG

    -0.5400

    60.73

    -0.89%

  • SCS

    -0.0700

    12.35

    -0.57%

  • CMSC

    0.0900

    23.5

    +0.38%

  • RYCEF

    0.0200

    7.84

    +0.26%

  • CMSD

    0.1872

    23.69

    +0.79%

  • RBGPF

    63.5700

    63.57

    +100%

  • RIO

    0.0700

    63.36

    +0.11%

  • GSK

    -0.3800

    36.17

    -1.05%

  • JRI

    0.0435

    12.83

    +0.34%

  • AZN

    -0.8700

    73.58

    -1.18%

  • VOD

    -0.0700

    8.36

    -0.84%

  • BTI

    -0.7900

    38.82

    -2.04%

  • BP

    0.5100

    35

    +1.46%

India's Modi takes ritual dip at Hindu mega-festival
India's Modi takes ritual dip at Hindu mega-festival / Photo: © AFP

India's Modi takes ritual dip at Hindu mega-festival

India's Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a ritual river dip on Wednesday at the world's largest religious festival, a week after a stampede killed at least 30 pilgrims.

Text size:

Many millions of people have already bathed in the confluence of rivers at the Kumbh Mela, a six-week-long Hindu celebration of prayer and bathing held every 12 years.

Modi, dressed in a saffron-coloured top and counting prayer beads in his hands, waded out thigh-deep to the holiest site of the Sangam, the meeting point of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers.

He then dunked his head under the waters several times, watched by vast crowds packed along the river banks in the north Indian city of Prayagraj, in Utter Pradesh state.

Modi said he was "blessed" to take part, calling it a "moment of divine connection".

"Like the tens of millions of others who have taken part in it, I was also filled with a spirit of devotion," he added in a statement.

Hindus believe that those who immerse themselves in the waters cleanse themselves of sin, breaking free from the cycle of rebirth and ultimately attaining salvation.

Organisers say the scale of the Kumbh Mela is that of a temporary country, boasting that as many as 400 million pilgrims are expected to attend.

Last month, at least 30 people were killed and many more injured after a surging crowd spilt out of a police cordon and trampled bystanders.

More than 380 million people have so far taken a dip in the rivers during the festival, which began last month and runs until February 26, according to state government figures.

Modi was accompanied by Yogi Adityanath, a hardline Hindu monk and Uttar Pradesh state chief minister, a key figure in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Yogi's successful management of the mega event was seen as a critical test for the 52-year-old firebrand leader, viewed as a potential eventual successor to Modi, 74.

But the deadly stampede on January 29 took the sheen off Yogi and his government's claims touting the stellar management of the event promoted on billboards across the city.

Modi's visit to the Kumbh coincides with state elections in the capital New Delhi, where the BJP is the main challenger to the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, led by charismatic Arvind Kejriwal.

A.Nunez--TFWP