P.K.Balachandran/Daily Mirror
Colombo, October 7-Stampedes, in which scores of men, women and children are killed and many more grievously injured, are all too frequent in India. There were eight major stampedes so far this year. The massive stampede in Tamil actor and fledgling politico Vijay’s rally at Karur on September 27, in which 41 were killed, was the latest.
These tragic events are generally attributed to India’s massive population and the tendency among its people to extravagantly demonstrate their religious devotion or admiration for film stars and political icons. Politicians also believe in showing off their support base by holding massive rallies often in ways not approved by the police. There is little or no awareness of crowd behaviour both among people and political leaders, especially the various stimuli that they could respond to in irrational ways.
Governments are aware of crowd management techniques but have failed to implement them. Recommendations of Inquiry Commissions have been filed and forgotten.
Stampedes in 2025
There have been eight major stampedes in India in 2025 –
1. On January 8, at Tirupati, a temple town in Andhra Pradesh, six people were killed and 40 injured in a stampede at the ticket counter.
2. 82 were killed in four separate stampedes during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh on January 29.
3. 18 people were killed and 15 injured when passengers slipped from an over-crowded footbridge connecting two platforms at the New Delhi railway station on February 15.
4. Six people were killed and more than 50 injured in Goa at the Shirgao Lairai Devi temple on May 3. Panic had gripped the crowd near the area where a fire-walking ritual was taking place.
5. On June 5, 11 people were crushed to death and 50 injured in Bengaluru at a celebration of the victory of the local Royal Challengers team in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The organisers were unprepared to handle 250,000 people who had converged outside the Chinnaswamy stadium.
6. On July 27 a stampede occurred at the Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar in Uttarakhand in which nine were killed. Panic was sparked by rumours of an electric current spreading in a narrow passage.
7. On June 29, at the annual chariot festival in the Jagannath temple in Puri (Odisha), three devotees were killed and 50 injured when a large crowd surged to view the deities’ chariots.
8. On September 27, 41 lives were lost in a stampede in film star Vijay’s political rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu.
Vijay’s Rally
Film actor Vijay’s supporters alleged that the rally of his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) was sabotaged by the Dravida Munnertra Kazhagam (DMK) which rules Tamil Nadu. Fingers were pointed at the Local DMK strong man, Senthil Balaji. But Vijay’s opponents pointed out that feeling guilty, he fled from the scene and hurriedly returned to Chennai in his private aircraft. He did not visit the injured in hospital nor did he visit the homes of the dead. Vijay took three days to put out a 4.5-minute video expressing sorrow.
It was only after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced a solatium for the grieving families that Vijay announced his own. His partymen filed a case demanding a Central government inquiry but the Tamil Nadu government had already appointed an inquiry commission. The High Court ordered a police Special Investigating Team.
Instead of sharing responsibility, Vijay asked Stalin not to be vindictive. “Chief Minister sir, if you have revenge plans, do anything to me. Don’t touch my leaders. We did nothing wrong except speaking at the designated spot. But police cases have been filed against our leaders, friends, and social media partners.”
Commenting on the tragedy, The Hindu said in an editorial – “From the comfort of his campaign caravan, Vijay did little to prevent crowds along his route from joining in, paralysing traffic and delaying his arrival at meeting venues by several hours. Youths climbed electricity poles, transformers and rooftops, and clung to trees, and families held up vulnerable children just to catch a glimpse of the actor. Yet, there was no effective corrective action either from the organisers or the police personnel. Police say there was a significant mismatch between the turnout projected by the TVK — 10,000 people — and the actual turnout — over 27,000.”
“Vijay must make more frequent appearances to dispel the mystique around him and abandon the practice of using roadshows as a show of strength. And the police must insist that all massive political meetings be held in open, spacious venues and not in dense locations.”
The colossal mishap at Karur has cast a long shadow over Vijay’s political journey which began only in February 2024 with the founding of the TVK. But given the fact that the Tamil Nadu State Assembly elections are to held in April-May 2026, political parties have taken sides. A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) team headed by Bollywood star Hema Malini visited Karur. The motive is to encourage Vijay to become an ally against the DMK-Congress alliance. Vijay’s vast fan base is attracting the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) also, though it is not clear if the fan base is also a voter base.
Scientific Crowd Management
Be that as it may, India needs to implement crowd control and crowd management techniques, that are already well known. Crowd control focuses on regulating the behaviour and movement of individuals, often through physical barriers, security personnel, or technology. On the other hand, crowd management encompasses a wider range of activities, including planning, communication, and coordination aimed at proactively preventing trouble.
The key elements of crowd management are (1) Evaluating the venue layout, understanding potential risks and establishing emergency protocols. (2) Managing entrances and exits to prevent overcrowding and ensuring a smooth flow of people (3) Providing clear instructions through signage, staff, and announcements to guide and inform attendees. (4) Using surveillance, staff, and technology to observe crowd behaviour and respond to any signs of distress or disruption (5) Having trained personnel and systems in place to address incidents quickly, including evacuations, first aid, or handling disturbances.
According to The Hindu, the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) had published “Comprehensive Guidelines on Crowd Control and Mass Gathering Management” in June 2025. The National Disaster Management Authority has a “Managing Crowds at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering” guide.
These documents recommend advance risk assessment, detailed site layout plans, predetermined ingress and egress routes, real-time monitoring, and communication protocols.
Steps Taken
After the crowd crush at a New Delhi railway station in February, the Indian Railways updated its manuals for around 60 stations with high footfall by introducing holding areas, better dispersal zones and crowd monitoring. The Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority issued the “Guidelines for Managing Crowd at Events of Mass Gathering”, 2023.
The Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management prepared training materials that include technical instructions on calculating site capacity, planning exits, training volunteers, and ensuring first aid and fire safety. The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has run training modules.
The Karnataka government tabled the Crowd Control (Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering) Bill, 2025 which empowers district magistrates to cancel or redirect events, and impose fines and imprisonment. The Maharashtra government introduced a Bill in 2025 empowering the Nasik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority to authorise temporary townships and bypass certain urban planning norms so that facilities can be created for large gatherings.
In many districts across States, the police have directed organisers of large religious or political gatherings to prepare crowd management plans, limit crowd size, deploy medical teams and direct movement. Often needless barricades have caused crowd crushes and stampedes. The absence of well-equipped control rooms has been another lacuna.
Congress MP from Tamil Nadu, Sasikanth Senthil, a former high- ranking administrator, put out a useful video on what people should do to avoid being crushed by a crowd. But despite the availability of knowledge, people, political leaders and the police behave callously.
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