Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leaving no stone unturned for making this year’s International Yoga Day successful and in his latest move has asked the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry to promote yoga through the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. Prime Minister clearly believes that there cannot be a better platform to promote the concept of Yoga than one of the most watched leagues around the globe. This decision was taken in a brainstorming session called by the PM earlier this month. After the meeting, the instructions were sent to respective ministries.
This season of Indian Premier League is set to begin on 5th April when defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on last year’s finalists Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad. The will league go on until 21st May with some of the biggest cricketing names from all across the globe taking part in it and in indeed provides a good opportunity to promote Yoga. However, how the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry achieves this goal is yet to seen.
During the meeting, many other important decisions were also taken to increase the popularity of this worldwide event. The PMO has decided to institute an award to felicitate people who have contributed to yoga in India and abroad. It also plans to encourage IITs and IIMs to take up yoga as one of its extra-curricular activities.
The idea of celebrating an International Day of Yoga was proposed by Narendra Modi in 2014 during his speech at UNGA. He said, “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help in well-being. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.” Since then, International Yoga Day is celebrated on 21st June every year.