New Delhi: Some Muslim outfits have expressed reservations over reports that the government may ask schools to mark International Yoga Day. They claim that yoga requires bowing which is a practice reserved during Namaz. They also say that yoga sessions should not be made compulsory.
The government has been is planning countrywide yoga sessions to mark the International Day of Yoga on June 21. The government has maintained that yoga is a physical activity and should not be linked to religion.
"We object if yoga is made compulsory, suryanamaskar is against the basic teaching of Islam. We are not against any form of exercise but why aren't they making martial arts or any other form of physical activity compulsory," asks All India Majlis-e-Itehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi.
The Congress, too, slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making Yoga compulsory. "The PM is known for headline management in everything. He's holding a yoga event for a day but does he practice it himself? He doesn't realise that India is a composite culture," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said.
Supporting the concerns of the minority groups, he said, "their concern is very simple. Why should I impose anything on a particular group. If a Muslim group or Christian or tribal group doesn't follow it then so be it. You can't impose it on them," Surjewala said. He also added that the decision on whether Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul will be a part of the event will be taken after they get an invite.
However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that it is wrong to link Yoga with religion. "Health is wealth and Yoga is the key to that. It should not linked with any religion. Whoever wants to take, it they can and people who don't want to, don't have to," leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
On June 21, a 35-minute mass demonstration of 15 yoga asanas by 45,000 school children, government officials, diplomats, army personnel and NCC cadets, led by PM Narendra Modi is being organised at Rajpath in Delhi. The event will possibly lead to a record of sorts.
The event has already been registered as an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records, under "largest yoga demonstration/class at single venue" and if government sources are to be believed, massive arrangements are being made to make the event a grand success.
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