Representation of the Mahakumbh in global media: a study of traditional news platforms, documentaries, and OTT content

Introduction The Mahakumbh, world's largest peaceful mass gathering, occupies a unique place in the spiritual and cultural fabric of India. More than just a cultural– religious festival, the Mahakumbh embodies many rubrics that have survived over time, such as a legacy of faith, collective memory, and social unity. From travel bloggers to documentary filmmakers, and over-the top (OTT) platforms to live coverage, the Mahakumbh has been covered globally by various media outlets. In light of this background, this study investigates how global media constructs and promotes narratives about the Mahakumbh. Methodology This paper examined 50 news articles, of which 25 provided pre- 2025 coverage of the Mahakumbh and the remainder focused on the 2025 Mahakumbh. These news articles contain international news coverage from major global news organisations. Apart from these, three documentaries on the Kumbh were analysed, exploring the spectacle and the narrative. Results The narrative analysis reveals that the 2025 cycle marks a vital movement. Sacred mysticism becomes entwined with systems of crisis management, quantification, and surveillance. The festival is framed as a site of governance, technology, and faith. This evolution in media logic shifts the representation of the Mahakumbh into as a symbol of twenty-first-century state capacity and mediated faith. Discussion The primary data analysis was organised around four major themes that emerged from the research objectives. Theme 1: the spectacle of scale; Theme 2: ritual, faith, and continuity; Theme 3: exoticism and orientalist undertones and Theme 4: cultural diplomacy and soft power. Primary data analysis of news articles suggests a clear shift from the pre 2025 coverage to post 2025 coverage.