By Ahmad Masood

The Maha Kumbh Mela, or the Grand Pitcher Festival, is one of the biggest gatherings of people on earth; it takes place every 12 years and goes on for 55 days, in one of four cities in India : Allahabad, Ujjain, Haridwar and Nashik.

I moved to India from Afghanistan last year and the Mela, as it is called, was one of the assignments I wanted to cover.

My memories of the word “Mela” come from the times when I used to watch lots of Bollywood movies. Some of these movies would show brothers separated during this massive, chaotic gathering at childhood and then re-united decades later as adults.

At the Mela, the challenge for me was to make a clear picture from masses of people assembled for the holy bath.

The most frustrating part for me was that I could not get to an elevated place where I could show the large number of people from a vantage view point, as one of the greatest shows on earth takes place on the banks of the Ganges river, with a vast flat area around it.

As a photographer when I have a big assignment, I start thinking of images in my head; sometimes I even caption them long before the event begins.

A few days before the Kumbh officially started, every morning at 6am with the temperature just about zero, I would head out to the riverside, to illustrate the scene, take pictures of devotees coming from all over India by planes, trains and buses to take a dip in the waters that they believe will wash away their sins.

One of the highlights of the Mela is the Shahi Snan, or royal bath, where thousands of Naga Sadhus or holy men who grow long hair and beards, smeared in ashes, and march naked to the river to take their bath.

Other activities include religious processions by holy men and devotees, some on chariots but mostly on foot with religious music playing and performances, which sometime include elephants.

There were discussions and complaints among media members and organizers of the Mela for not having a decent position to cover the main day, despite the arrangements made for the coverage.

On Monday, at around 5am, the first group of the naked holy men marched towards the riverside. Some held axes and swords, some wore flowers around their necks, some wore nothing, but all cheered and roared as they jumped in the waters. Police had cleared the area of ordinary devotees and journalists were pushed aside.

To photograph, this is pretty easy, one just needs to get in the cold water, then make sure you don’t get knocked down by the excited pilgrims and overexcited media members. Protect yourself and protect your equipment even more.

Picture opportunity is in abundance, but the quest here is to get the best out of it, nothing less, so you are scanning through hundreds of people, splashing water, changing light among singing and running pilgrims, men and women, young and old.

The little but important problem comes when editing pictures, you get many naked men’s genitals standing out in most of your best shots so if you were lucky a splash of water or a flower bed would have covered the parts.

It was an experience of great intensity, with the brain sometimes struggling with the tens of thousands of images. The day was long but totally worth it.

All said and done, I found it was one big competition of “who gets in the water first” – pilgrims running to get the first dip, journalists running to get the first picture or police running to stop them.

The credibility of the result will weigh heavily on U.S. President Barack Obama’s review of his Afghanistan war strategy, due next month, amid rising violence and sagging public support, especially after a fraud-marred presidential election last year.

Consistent allegations of vote fraud in both polls have raised questions about the credibility of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government at a time when U.S. and NATO officials have been re-examining their long-term commitment in Afghanistan.

Wednesday’s events will not have helped that process. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) had promised to release full results more than 10 weeks after the poll but IEC Chairman Fazl Ahmad Manawi said results in volatile Ghazni province southwest of Kabul had still to be determined.

The other 33 provinces plus one seat for Kuchi nomads were finalised, he said. Manawi said another three winning candidates had been disqualified over irregularities, taking the total thrown out by the IEC to 24.

Despite the widespread concerns about fraud, and calls by protesters for the vote to be annulled, Manawi said there would not be another election.

“We are not planning to hold another election in any place,” Manawi told a news conference.

Disgruntled candidates, lawmakers and supporters have in recent weeks called for the September poll to be scrapped. Dozens took to the streets of Kabul on Wednesday to protest against a polling process they say was corrupt and shameful.

About 150 people gathered outside Karzai’s palace, demanding he “listen to the nation”. Some carried banners which read “Hijacked parliament = collapse of democracy” and “IEC is the enemy of democracy”.

Riot police watched over the crowd and roads around the palace were blocked, a Reuters witness said.

“Blocking the road and launching violence because they have not got a seat is not the right thing to do and is a malicious act against the country,” Karzai said.

WIDESPREAD FRAUD

The protesters, mostly disgruntled candidates and their supporters, have warned that failure to address grievances about the poll would push Afghans towards the insurgency.

“It doesn’t matter who is winning or losing, we will continue to protest until the officials in the government hear us and the Afghan people learn about the widespread fraud that happened during this election,” said lawmaker Noor ul Haq Olomi, from southern Kandahar province, the Taliban’s heartland.

About 2,500 candidates ran for the 249 seats available in the wolesi jirga, or lower house of parliament. A U.N.-backed election watchdog said on Sunday nearly one in 10 winning candidates had been disqualified for fraud.

Those disqualifications by the U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) cleared the way for the IEC to release final results.

There were more than 6,000 complaints lodged with ECC and the IEC has already thrown out almost a quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast as invalid. The IEC is also being investigated by the attorney general’s office over election fraud.

Late on Tuesday, Afghan media reported two election officials had been suspended by the attorney general’s office for “making statements against the national interest”. The attorney general’s office has so far declined further comment.

Manawi described the reports as “unfortunate”.

(Additional reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) has said it would announce the winners of 249 seats in the lower house of parliament, or wolesi jirga , after a delay that lasted more than two months due to investigations into fraud complaints.

The credibility of the eventual result will weigh heavily on U.S. President Barack Obama’s review of his Afghan war strategy, due to be released next month, amid rising violence and sagging public support, especially after a fraud-marred presidential election last year.

Consistent allegations of vote fraud in both polls have raised questions about the credibility of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government at a time when U.S. and NATO officials have been re-examining their long-term commitment in Afghanistan.

The protesters, mostly candidates who failed to win a seat and their supporters, have organized a string of demonstrations in the capital and warned that failure to address grievances about the poll would only push Afghans toward the insurgency.

Some of the protesters, including a handful of women and turban-wearing men, looked like they had travelled from outside Kabul.

“We have gathered here today to protest against the illegal election,” said lawmaker Noor ul Haq Olomi, from southern Kandahar province, the Taliban’s heartland.

“It doesn’t matter who is winning or losing, we will continue to protest until the officials in the government hear us and the Afghan people learn about the widespread fraud that happened during this election.”

Disgruntled candidates, lawmakers and supporters have in recent weeks called for the September poll to be scrapped and a new election ordered.

A U.N.-backed election watchdog said on Sunday nearly one in 10 winning candidates had been disqualified for fraud.

Sunday’s disqualifications by the U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) cleared the way for the Afghan government’s IEC to release the final results.

There were more than 6,000 complaints lodged with ECC and the IEC has already thrown out almost a quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast as invalid. The IEC also is being investigated by the attorney general’s office over election fraud.

Late on Tuesday, Afghan television also reported two election officials had been suspended by the attorney general’s office for “making statements against the national interest”. The attorney general’s office declined immediate comment.

(Writing by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Paul Tait and Miral Fahmy)

Protesters, claiming foreign forces had burned a copy of Islam’s holiest book during a raid in Maidan Wardak province last week, blocked traffic in Kabul for more than an hour.

A spokeswoman for U.S. and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said none of their troops were involved in the incident and blamed the Taliban for spreading a false rumor that a copy of the Koran had been burned.

More than 100,000 foreign troops are battling a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, where violence this year reached its highest level since the austere Islamists were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001.

Thick plumes of smoke rose above the crowd as protesters set fire to a large effigy of what they said was U.S. President Barack Obama.

“Death to America. Down with Israel,” chanted one man at the rally, which was organized mainly by university students.

Others threw stones and clashed with police but no casualties were reported.

“No to democracy. We just want Islam,” said one banner carried by protesters, many of whom shook their fists in the air.

Captain Elizabeth Mathias, a media officer for U.S. and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, said the Taliban were trying to undermine foreign troops by spreading the rumor.

“We did not burn a Koran … It is unfortunate that the protesters believe a Taliban rumor,” Mathias said, adding an investigation had been carried out.

The Taliban could not be reached immediately for comment.

Security is already being tightened across Afghanistan as the country braces for a run-off vote in its presidential poll on November 7 after the first round in August was tainted by allegations of widespread fraud.

The Taliban on Saturday vowed to disrupt the poll and urged Afghans to boycott the vote, as they had done before the August 20 first round.

Afghanistan has seen protests in the past over similar incidents, as well as over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper in 2006.

(Additional reporting and writing by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Paul Tait)