Yogi Adityanath govt soon to set up Kumbh Mela Research Centre in Prayagraj

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh after the success of the Kumbh Mela in 2019, has decided to set up a Kumbh Research Centre in Prayagraj. The centre will be housed in the Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute (GBPSSI). It will serve as a resource centre as well as an archive for the Kumbh and will be jointly managed by the GBPSSI and the Kumbh Mela Authority.

The centre will be a boon for researchers and will have documents, data, reports, photographs and researches related to Kumbh Mela. GBPSSI director Badri Narain Tiwari said that the idea behind the study centre was to make Kumbh more vibrant, especially aimed at attracting the younger generations. "The research centre will undertake one project on Kumbh Mela every year. These projects will help in creating a database and scientific documentation on the grand religious congregation and its related aspects. This will also help in honing management skills required for organizing the event," he said.

Workshops, where eminent social scientists, researchers, policymakers and administrators will interact on social, economic, cultural, and religious aspects of the events, will soon be held. The workshop will help policymakers and administrators in organizing future Kumbh Melas and coordinated with other Kumbh states.

"The centre will also document Kumbh Melas, enlisted as 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' by UNESCO, as a case study to help scholars understand the nuances of this cultural site over other geographical spaces," he said. The centre also proposes to offer Prayagraj Kumbh Fellowship to help disseminate knowledge and experience of Kumbh Mela across the world. Scholars whose research papers on Kumbh have been published in international journals would be eligible for the fellowship.