{"id":1431,"date":"2016-05-16T22:58:18","date_gmt":"2016-05-16T22:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=1431"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:07:22","slug":"elphinstone-station-anatomy-of-an-indian-stampede","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431","title":{"rendered":"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Y<\/span>esterday was the last day of <\/p>Navratri<\/a>, a general sense of happiness and well-being in the air. I watched people in the train, dressed to the nines, looking forward to the day. I was on the Western Line, that connects Mumbai\u2019s northern suburbs with the rest of the city: The same network that was the site of a stampede<\/a> that killed 22 people and injured almost twice the number. \n\nI was lucky to have gotten off many stations prior, but I can\u2019t stop thinking about the faces of the people who must have deboarded at Elphinstone railway station, a business hub that houses several corporates. I wonder how many of them made it out of the crush alive.\n \nThere have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut? Growing up, my mum explained that I couldn\u2019t climb up the Qutub Minar, after a deadly stampede in 1981 ensured that it was forever closed to the public. I thought we\u2019d have outgrown that phase, but in April 2016, 107<\/a> people died at the Puttingal Devi temple in Kerala. Roll back a few years and the statistics and situation remains depressingly same: 115 deaths in Madhya Pradesh\u2019s Ratangarh Mata Temple in 2013; 224 at the Chamunda Devi temple in Rajasthan in 2008. You’re looking at thousands of injured people as well, every single year.\n\nUnlike a terror attack, there is no evil motive behind a stampede, it is not a planned attempt to kill or cause destruction. It isn\u2019t a natural disaster either. In both those situations, there is at least a modicum of preparedness. But how do we prepare for a stampede? \n\n\"\"\n

\n

Indians are always in a hurry and want to be the first at everything: Boarding a train, driving in traffic, or standing in a queue.<\/p>\n

Pratik Chorge\/Hindustan Times via Getty Image<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\nElphinstone\u2019s survivors might have the rain to blame, but most other stampedes have been the result of a sudden panicked rush, usually based on a rumour or a loud noise. As Indians, we have mastered the art of panic and rush. In Hollywood, they have to make movies titled Rush Hour, while in India it remains a way of life. We are always in a hurry and want to be the first at everything: Boarding a train, driving in traffic, or standing in a queue. After a flight lands, we can\u2019t wait for a moment despite flight attendants repeatedly requesting otherwise. \n\nAs for the panic and rumours, we\u2019ll believe just about anything, from stupid Whatsapp forwards<\/a> to something a fellow traveller on the train tells us. If there is one thing we sorely need to pick up from our adored captain MS Dhoni<\/a>, it is the ability to stay calm under pressure, and to assess a situation before jumping the gun.\n\nI\u2019ve tried and failed to wrap my head around this dichotomy. We are the first to panic, but we are also a people most callous<\/a> about our own safety. If you really need any proof of that, wait for Diwali. Or try to stop at a traffic signal. If you abide by traffic rules and drive carefully, you\u2019re accused of being a \u201cphattu\u201d. Fire safety mock drills in offices are excuses to go to the chai tapri. We\u2019re a people who live by the \u201clook ma, no hands\u201d philosophy. After all, what is this life? Just a cycle of birth and death — you\u2019ll soon have another one. \n\n\"\"\n

\n

Not only is space a concept that is alien to us, we barely understand what crowd control means.<\/p>\n

Bhushan Koyande\/Hindustan Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\nThat said, it\u2019s unfair to just blame a population for what is also an administrative and infrastructure failure: The government\u2019s apologists have already been doing that.\n\nDo commuters enjoy travelling atop a train or hanging outside it? People have to board trains before they completely stop because if you don\u2019t, you might not get a place at all. So many people get injured in the process daily, lose their legs — I have had a couple of spectacles smashed in the rush — but that\u2019s a risk you have to take, just to be able to get to work. When more than two trains arrive at Dadar, it takes you no less than 10 minutes to just get out of the premises. It\u2019s a ticking time bomb. The reason people believed the rumour of the Elphinstone bridge collapsing is because it really isn\u2019t far-fetched. \n\nAs a commuter, what choice do you have? Risk travelling by road where a pothole could kill you? Or the boredom when you\u2019re stuck in a merciless jam? That\u2019s the price you pay for the right to be able to earn — Death.\n\nNot only is space a concept that is alien to us, we barely understand what crowd control means. We rarely set a limit to the number of people that can be at any place at any time. Take our religious yatras, for instance, where there is an uncontrolled influx of pilgrims — and it is sacrilege to turn anyone back, even if your infrastructure is ill-equipped to handle it. We know very little about what to do in case disaster strikes, and our educational curriculum has taught us next to nothing about disaster management.\n\nWhich is why, I wonder, why I have never seen \u201cstampede control\u201d on any party\u2019s election manifesto. \u201cTerrorism\u201d pops up frequently, but it\u2019s a less severe threat than what our own people can do to each other. Why is it that we almost never see stampedes capture the political narrative, an issue that can be dealt with if we get a few basic things right?\n\nMy theory is that we\u2019ve already moved on from this tragedy. Just the way we have moved on from Kerala, from Madhya Pradesh, from Delhi. All we are left with at the end of the day is a series of \u201cif onlys\u201d. If only people walked in a queue, if only they didn\u2019t push and panic, if only the bridge was slightly larger, and if only a response mechanism was in place. If only. \n\nMake a few noises about the Spirit of Mumbai that was quite literally crushed on that unfortunate morning, and move on. Don\u2019t linger to look at the bodies shrouded in white cloth. The next train is rolling into the station.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":1435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[2475,2476,1601,2477,80,2478,2479,2480,220,998,2481,2482,939],"class_list":["post-1431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pov","tag-bridge","tag-dadar","tag-dhoni","tag-elphinstone","tag-mumbai","tag-road","tag-rumour","tag-stampede","tag-station","tag-train","tag-travel","tag-unsafe","tag-whatsapp"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Anatomy of an Indian Stampede<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-16T22:58:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T14:07:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1506767293.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hardik Rajgor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hardik Rajgor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hardik Rajgor\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e182d0f2221a33f1b6e7dc73de64ceec\"},\"headline\":\"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-16T22:58:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T14:07:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431\"},\"wordCount\":1099,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1506767293.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"bridge\",\"dadar\",\"Dhoni\",\"elphinstone\",\"mumbai\",\"road\",\"rumour\",\"stampede\",\"station\",\"Train\",\"travel\",\"unsafe\",\"Whatsapp\"],\"articleSection\":[\"POV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431\",\"name\":\"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1506767293.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-16T22:58:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T14:07:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e182d0f2221a33f1b6e7dc73de64ceec\"},\"description\":\"There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1506767293.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1506767293.jpg\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=1431#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e182d0f2221a33f1b6e7dc73de64ceec\",\"name\":\"Hardik Rajgor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8cba71439762f501062dfa197aa35017449438047ccffe420ac56824331cbb01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8cba71439762f501062dfa197aa35017449438047ccffe420ac56824331cbb01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8cba71439762f501062dfa197aa35017449438047ccffe420ac56824331cbb01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hardik Rajgor\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=164\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede","description":"There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede","og_description":"There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?","og_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-05-16T22:58:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-17T14:07:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1520,"height":850,"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1506767293.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hardik Rajgor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede","twitter_description":"There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hardik Rajgor","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431"},"author":{"name":"Hardik Rajgor","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/e182d0f2221a33f1b6e7dc73de64ceec"},"headline":"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede","datePublished":"2016-05-16T22:58:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-17T14:07:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431"},"wordCount":1099,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1506767293.jpg","keywords":["bridge","dadar","Dhoni","elphinstone","mumbai","road","rumour","stampede","station","Train","travel","unsafe","Whatsapp"],"articleSection":["POV"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431","name":"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1506767293.jpg","datePublished":"2016-05-16T22:58:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-17T14:07:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/e182d0f2221a33f1b6e7dc73de64ceec"},"description":"There have been stampedes in other parts of the world, but why does it feel like India is an especial victim along the route of this deathly juggernaut?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1506767293.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1506767293.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1431#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Anatomy of an Indian Stampede"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/e182d0f2221a33f1b6e7dc73de64ceec","name":"Hardik Rajgor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cba71439762f501062dfa197aa35017449438047ccffe420ac56824331cbb01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cba71439762f501062dfa197aa35017449438047ccffe420ac56824331cbb01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cba71439762f501062dfa197aa35017449438047ccffe420ac56824331cbb01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hardik Rajgor"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=164"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1506767293.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1434,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431\/revisions\/1434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}