A governance breakdown and a string of preventable tragedies

India’s constant cycle of tragedy and inaction has once again been exposed by a string of recent disasters: the Ahmedabad flight crash, the Bengaluru RCB stampede, the Pahalgam terror attack, and the Kumbh Mela stampede. While each of these incidents is unique in specifics, they share a chilling resemblance—a failure of planning, foresight and accountability from authorities, resulting in hundreds of preventable deaths. As a country, we must stop treating these catastrophes as rare and unpredictable events and start recognising them as signs of a deeper problem: our refusal to learn from past mistakes.

The numbers alone should alarm us. On June 12, 2025, an Air India Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad, claiming 241 lives. Among the additional fatalities on the ground were students from B J Medical College, as the aircraft overshot the runway and crashed into the hospital. The exact number of ground victims is still being confirmed. This was not merely a rare accident—it resulted from years of ignoring safety regulations. Residential buildings had been allowed to be built dangerously close to the runway, violating aviation safety norms, highlighting concerns about the adequacy of safety buffers and urban planning around airport perimeters. This is not the first time such negligence has cost lives; similar concerns were raised after the 2010 Mangalore crash, but little changed. Once again, lessons went unlearned.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, the excitement of the Royal Challengers’ IPL victory on June 5, 2025, turned into a nightmare when a stampede killed 11 fans and injured 45 others. An estimated 2 lakh to 3 lakh fans had gathered outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has a seating capacity of only 35,000 to 40,000 seats. The cause was preventable. Crowd control arrangements were grossly inadequate, with temporary barriers collapsing under pressure and unable to withstand the massive surge. The suspension of a few police officers is a face-saving measure. Still, the core issues remain: a lack of strategic planning, an absence of crowd flow modelling, and a failure to decentralise large-scale event management.

The Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, also resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians—24 Hindus, a Christian and a local Muslim—after armed militants opened fire on visitors in the remote Baisaran Valley. 

Despite an initial claim of responsibility by the Resistance Front, the group later issued a denial, complicating the investigation, and no special security arrangements were made for the tourists. The area lacked adequate security coverage, raising concerns about the vulnerability of high-risk tourist zones. In response, India took firm diplomatic and military steps against Pakistan. However, the incident revealed long-standing deficiencies in counterterrorism preparedness and rapid-response capabilities in strategically sensitive regions.

We witnessed the worst event in the sacred context of Kumbh Mela. A stampede on January 29, 2025, in Prayagraj led to at least 82 deaths—more than double the official figure of 37. Many families were denied compensation, and the accurate scale of the tragedy was dismissed. This was not just a bureaucratic indifference but a deliberate attempt to evade responsibility. The absence of real-time crowd monitoring and the reliance on outdated manual headcounts are indefensible, especially for an event drawing over 50 million pilgrims.

A systemic pattern of reactive rather than preventive governance connects all these tragedies. Committees are formed after every disaster, but their recommendations are rarely implemented. Local agencies remain unfunded, poorly trained, and lacking in transparency. Whether it’s manipulation of death tolls or delays in public communication, the public is left to mourn, while the officials move on with little accountability, seemingly unmoved by the havoc.

It is now evident that conventional solutions—more rules, better enforcement or more training—are no longer enough. We need to adopt bold, technology-driven reforms. Firstly, real-time crowd management using AI, drones, and RFID trackers must become standard for mass gatherings. The 2023 T20 World Cup parade in Mumbai, where nearly 3 lakh fans gathered, showed how live surveillance, controlled entry-exits, and clear communication can manage massive crowds safely, even under pressure. Secondly, biometric verification should be paired with local intelligence networks and SOS systems in terror-prone regions. Japan’s J-Alert issues real-time public warnings, and South Korea’s AI crowd alerts, post-Itaewon disaster, offer proven models. Thirdly, mega-events like Kumbh Mela must adopt staggered scheduling, supported by digital participation, risk simulations and mandatory emergency drills. Lastly, a National Disaster Prevention Authority focused solely on proactive safety planning should be established, and public safety rankings should be introduced to hold local bodies accountable.

By embedding innovation, transparency and technology into planning, India can finally shift from reacting to preventing disasters. These solutions are practical, not futuristic. What’s missing is the political will and urgency to act, because every Indian life must truly matter. 

This is the moment to act decisively and end the pattern.

(The writers are with the Department of International Relations, Peace and Public Policy, St Joseph’s University, Bengaluru)