Bengaluru tragedy: Is it time to ban all roadshows?

Only three days ago, an euphoric Virat Kohli was telling Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans in Ahmedabad that the IPL 2025 victory was as much ‘theirs’ as the teams. The irony hit home the very next day, with a horrifying stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium leaving 11 dead per official figures, as celebrations in Bengaluru turned into a nightmare, with over 50 injured.

Come to think of it, a mishap of such magnitude in a sporting event is rare even in a country as huge and chaotic as India. It was eons ago that Kolkata was witness to the death of 16 fans in a stampede resulting from fan violence during a Mohun Bagan versus East Bengal football match at the Eden Gardens in 1980. And now this.

The Karnataka government on Friday relieved MLC K. Govindaraj as political secretary to chief minister Siddaramaiah and transferred additional director-general of police (intelligence) Hemant Nimbalkar. The decisions come a day after Siddaramaiah suspended Bengaluru police commissioner B. Dayananda and four other senior police officials.

No matter how many probes, dismissals, even arrests — nothing can compensate for such a criminal waste of mostly young lives.

It makes one seriously rethink the culture of celebrations and roadshows after every cricket success (as we win pretty much little outside it), though there is a counterpoint that such celebrations are commonplace after a sporting success everywhere in the world. Only late last month, a man mowed through a celebrating crowd of Liverpool fans as they were rejoicing in their Premiership triumph — injuring 45 people — a moment of madness not linked to a terror attack as was speculated.

Opinions are fairly polarised for and against such congregations, with the legendary Kapil Dev saying lives are more important than celebrations. Some have, of course, tried to derive brownie points for Mumbai which hosted massive celebrations without a hitch after the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph, with a roadshow and an event at Wankhede Stadium. This is not to say it was free of chaos or hardship for Mumbaikars, but the last thing we need to do is to make it a ‘Mumbai can’ thing at this dark hour.

If that’s not enough, some are even pointing out how Kolkata handled two roadshows and celebrations at Eden Gardens after Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL triumphs in 2012 and 2014. The fact remains that in a country as obsessed with cricket as ours, one needs to think twice before making such grandiose plans, which are often nothing but ticking time bombs endangering the life and limb of the ordinary fan.

As expected, the IPL has again turned into a whipping boy and #ArrestKohli has been trending since Thursday. Let’s remember that barely months ago, a major stampede-like situation was averted when the Delhi District Cricket Association made it a free-for-all at the Arun Jaitley Stadium for a glimpse of Kohli as he turned out to play for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy after 12 years. Not unsurprisingly, the crowd thinned out no sooner than the icon was dismissed cheaply, underlining the point that it’s the superstars who matter rather than the sport.

The malaise lies in the unhealthy obsession with cricket at the cost of other sports, and it’s only to the IPL’s credit that it has hit upon the right formula, a heady concoction of cricket and entertainment. The significance of lifting the winners’ trophy after a wait of 17 years, hence, is drilled into the fans’ psyche as something equivalent to winning a cricket World Cup, which again is nothing but a tournament between 10-12 countries.

Compare this to the return of Neeraj Chopra, the greatest athlete India has ever produced, or a hockey team after winning an Olympic medal or a D. Gukesh after being crowned the youngest world champion.

It’s we who have coined terms such as 'cricket is a religion for India'. Both are capable of whipping up mass hysteria, as the nightmarish memories of Kumbh will tell us. We can’t expect a sense of proportion in either and hence, it’s time to place a ban on so-called celebrations or roadshows for now. Say what?

With agency inputs