‘Suryanamaskar asana’ will not be part of this year’s Yoga Day celebrations and chanting of ‘Om’ won’t be compulsory even though Yoga is incomplete without it, Ayush Minister Shripad Naik said on Wednesday.
Naik was speaking about the International Yoga Day event on 21 June which is expected to entail a collective cost of hundreds of crores of rupees.
Naik, whose ministry is the nodal agency for organising the annual celebrations, said:
There has been a controversy over this asana, with Muslim groups saying their faith does not allow such a practice. There was a controversy recently too over the UGC’s directive asking universities and colleges to follow Ayush ministry’s yoga protocol that begins with chanting of ‘Om’ and some Sanskrit shlokas during Yoga Day celebrations.
International Yoga Day is celebrated on 21 June since last year, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking a lead. Modi performed the Yoga at Rajpath last year and this time, he will do so in Chandigarh.
Naik also dismissed the controversy related to chanting of ‘Om’ during the event and said it has not been made compulsory.
The government, however, had insisted that last year’s protocol should be maintained without any changes.
About whether a holiday will be declared on 21 June, Naik said:
Ayush Ministry officials said that yoga has been made a part of physical activity sessions in various schools for classes six to ten, but it has not been made compulsory.
Naik said that a circular has also been issued by the HRD Minister to all schools to include yoga. While many schools have adopted it, it is still “work is in progress” for some others.
Asked about the budget for the celebrations, Ministry secretary Ajit Sharan said every ministry is spending its own money and Ayush Ministry is not asking anybody to fund it.
(With PTI inputs)
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