India gears up for first International Yoga Day

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 20

Sunday is a big day for India: it is the day the world will observe the first International Yoga Day, a proposal mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first address to the UN General Assembly in September last year.

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Modi and his team will lead the celebrations in India: the PM will lead the mega Yoga event on the majestic Rajpath on Sunday while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will do so at the UN. His team, meanwhile, has fanned out across the country to lead Yoga programmes. Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be at Lucknow; Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu in Chennai; and Health Minister JP Nadda in Hyderabad.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will participate in an event in Meerut. Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah will be in Patna where he, reports claim, will take lessons from a Muslim yoga expert Mohd Tamanna along with Ashok Sarkar at the Moinul Haque stadium. Other ministers from Bihar, including Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajeev Pratap Rudy, Radha Mohan Singh and Ram Kirpal Yadav will also attend the event.

The event at Rajpath will begin at 6.40 am. The government expects a gathering of more than 35,000 people, which will include Cabinet Ministers, Minister of States, MPs and diplomats and foreign nationals. India hopes to make it to the Guinness World Records for ‘Largest Yoga Demonstration at a single venue’.

While ‘Surya Namaskar’— a set of 12 powerful yoga ‘asanas’ (postures) that provide a good cardiovascular workout— has been excluded from the protocol due to objections from Muslims, the chanting of ‘Om’ is expected to be part of the event. The Prime Minister will arrive at 6. 40 am and the programme will start at 7 am and continue for 35 minutes.

Yoga Guru Ramdev and his team of experts will be present to exhibit ‘asanas’, which will be telecast on 28 big screens.

Given the size of the event, extensive security arrangements have been made at the venue in the wake of threat perceptions and warnings from intelligence agencies. Armed security personnel, including Delhi policemen and NSG commandoes, have been deployed to secure the venue and area around—India Gate, Rajpath and Vijay Chowk.

The chief's of the three defence services — General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Admiral Robin Dhowan — and senior government officials will participate in the event, as will foreign diplomats from around 50 countries.

Both sides of the 1400 metre stretch on Rajpath have been line with yoga mats. Ambulances and supporting staff—general physicians, specialists and paramedical staff— have been kept on standby to meet any medical exigency.
The Department of Post will issue stamps while Finance Ministry will bring out coins of the denomination of Rs. 10 and Rs 100 to mark the occasion.

The Ministry of AYUSH has also come up with a booklet on Yoga Protocol and a 33-minute DVD of the ‘aasanas’ that will be performed at the Rajpath.

Meanwhile, private airline SpiceJet will collaborate with Isha Foundation to launch ‘High on Yoga@35000 feet’. Airline crew and yoga instructors will perform a routine specifically designed to be done in flight.

This is the first yoga day celebrations after the United Nations declared June 21 as International Yoga Day in December last year, with 177 countries voting in favour. According to the government, of the total of 177 countries that have co-sponsored the Day, 47 countries are from Organisation of Islamic Countries.

The government claims that these countries have also expressed their desire to participate in the yoga sessions being organised in the Indian Missions.

Notably, June 21 marks summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.

States have been asked to organise similar events at state / district /panchayat headquarters from 7 am to 7.35 am.  Over 11 lakh NCC Cadets will perform according to Common Yoga Protocol. Some nine Lakh members of Armed Police Forces will also participate in yoga events in their respective field units.