India & Modernity Temple stampedes suggest unease with modernity Deaths from stampedes at holy sites seem to be taken for granted. The Chinese authorities can comprehend & master techniques for crowd control, but apparently the Indians cannot as yet.  Jodhpur, Rajasthan:  At the 15th century Chamunda Devi temple on 30 Sep 2008, 147 devotees were trampled to death there by fellow pilgrims clamoring to enter the temple to mark the start of the Hindu festival of Navratras. A wall leading to the old temple collapsed, triggering panic among a 25,000-strong congregation. The situation was aggravated by people slipping on the temple floor, awash with coconut milk offered to the deities. . A power cut added to their woes. It is strange that the deities being honoured didn't bother to intervene to save the devotees. The final death toll exceeded 220. Himachal Pradesh: Two months earlier, a horrific temple stampede had crushed 162 people to death at a famous Hindu shrine in India's northern state Kota, Rajastan: saw the third tragedy in 2008. A temple staircase collapsed leaving two dead and 250 injured. Mandra Devi: In 2005, 340 died in a human crush at the hilltop Mandra Devi temple in western India, where more than 300,000 had gathered for a religious festival. Nasik, Maharashtra: In 2003 all hell broke loose at Nasik when a tsunami of Hindu pilgrims - waiting to bathe in a local holy river - surged over a flimsy bamboo fence triggering a stampede that killed 39 and injured 125. So what's the problem? In most cases, crowd management measures at such gatherings are rudimentary - or even non-existent. Authorities do not plan for sudden surges - a miscalculation that leads to stampedes. First aid kits are not provided. The safety of the ancient structures is  not checked. To top it all, police action often leads to further panic rather than reassurance. The Rajasthan government has ordered an "official probe". There have been probes in the past - what have the authorities learnt? The Chinese authorities' know better. for example, despite the crowds which each day visit Lhasa's Potala, the erstwhile palace of the Dalai Lama, visitors are allowed only in batches, and to protect the ancient wooden structure visitors are assigned to holding areas if numbers do spill over. There may be a more fundamental problem here. VS Naipaul broached this in a 1960s essay when he said that India(certainly the officials of the heartlands or cowbelt)  is driven  by 'myth and ritual'. It suggests that India has not quite come to terms with modernity and seems ill at ease with rational procedures. As a result large scale events tend to get chaotic. Columnist Peter Popham  of the Independent (4 April 01):remarked:  “India is the world champion for scenes of chaos and mayhem.” References Neeta Lal, Asian Times Online, 4th Oct 08 IANS, Death toll rises to 224, 2 Oct 2008 IBN LIve 30 Inefficient management to blame, 30 Sep 2008