Fact Check: Viral Jawaharlal Nehru Photo Is Not From 1954 Kumbh Mela

The image claiming to show Jawaharlal Nehru taking a holy dip at the Kumbh Mela in 1954 is incorrect. The photo is from 1938, and not from Kumbh.

Posts on X have shared a photo of Jawaharlal Nehru, falsely captioning it as him participating in the Kumbh Mela.

Source : X/Modified by Logically Facts

The Verdict [False]

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The image shows Jawaharlal Nehru immersing his mother's ashes in Prayagraj (then Allahabad) in 1938.

What's the claim? 

Multiple users on X have shared a photo of former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to claim that it shows him taking a dip in the Ganges at the Mahakumbh Mela, a Hindu religious pilgrimage, in Prayagraj (erstwhile Allahabad), a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Archive links to these posts can be found here, here, here, and here.

 

Screenshots of posts on X sharing a photo of Jawaharlal Nehru with the claim that it shows him submerging himself in the Ganges at Kumbh Mela. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Alluding to a recent statement made by the Indian National Congress (INC) President Mallikarjun Kharge, where he criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah for going to the Kumbh Mela and asking if a dip in the river will eradicate poverty, users took a swipe at the party and wrote, "Jawaharlal Nehru ending poverty by taking a dip in Ganga in Prayagraj in 1954. [Translated from Hindi]"

However, we found that while the photo is from Prayagraj, it is not from Kumbh. The photo is actually of Nehru immersing his mother's ashes in the Ganges in 1938. 

What did we find?

A reverse image search on the image led us to an article titled "Book review: 'The Nehrus: Personal Histories' by Mushirul Hasan and Priya Kapoor" published by India Today in 2006, which carried this image. The caption of the image noted that it showed Nehru immersing his mother's ashes in Allahabad. According to public records, Swarup Rani Nehru, his mother, passed away on January 10, 1938.

Screenshot of a report by India Today containing the same photo captioned as Nehru submerging his mother's ashes in Allahabad. (Source: India Today)

Did Nehru take a dip at Mahakumbh 1954?

As noted in this report by The Quint, several politicians, including former President of India Rajendra Prasad and then-Prime Minister Nehru had visited the mela in 1954, the first after India gained Independence. However, while Prasad took a dip in the waters, Nehru is said to have been monitoring preparations. The report notes that according to a Amrita Bazar Patrika report from February 4, 1954, Nehru did not take a holy dip at the Sangam. He reportedly said, “I had not a holy dip but other dips.” (sic)

Nehru and Prasad's visit to the festival that year also coincided with a stampede that broke out when devotees were taking a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya (new moon), which left nearly 800 people dead.

The verdict

This image is not from 1954 and does not show Jawaharlal Nehru taking a dip in the Ganges during the Kumbh Mela. It is a picture taken after his mother's death in 1938, where he is submerging his mother's ashes in the river in then-Allahabad.  

This story was originally published by Logically Facts as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by ABP Live staff.