Chandigarh, June 21-Union Home Minister, Mr Amit Shah said that Yoga is acting like an Ambassador of India which is attracting the whole world towards Yoga and the country’s old age culture. As a result of the efforts made by Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi , Yoga got recognition at international level and today it is being performed simultaneously in about 200 countries.
Mr Shah was speaking as a Chief Guest at the State Level Function of 5th International Yoga Day celebrations in Rohtak today.
Mr Shah also lauded Chief Minister; Mr Manohar Lal for the setting up of Yog Parishad aimed at the promotion of Yoga in the State. Earlier, Mr Shah and Chief Minister Mr Manohar Lal performed Yoga along with the people present on this occasion.
Highlighting the importance of Yoga in day to day life, Mr Shah said that Yoga is a practice which not only ensures physical and mental development of an individual but also provides enough strength to perform work with ease. He said that foreign invaders rule the country for long and since then Yoga was meant to be practiced only by saints and gurus. He said though several progammes were organized from time to time in the country for the promotion of Yoga, it got recognition at international level in the year 2014, when Mr Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of Country with the massive support of people.
He said that during his speech in UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi not only acquaint the world with the glory (Yoga) of India but also presented a proposal in the Assembly offering to share country’s practice and knowledge of Yoga to the entire world . He also made an appeal that international Yoga Day be organized so that Yoga reaches to every individual. It was the result of the persistent efforts made by Mr Modi that 177 countries accepted the proposal and UN declared June 21 as International Yoga Day only in a period of 70 days.
Mr Shah without naming anyone said that those who are in habit of finding faults said that what could be achieved by doing Yoga in a single day. He said that I would like to tell them that today crores of people are performing Yoga in about 200 countries and children are taking inspiration from them to adopt Yoga in their lives. He said that in the western countries, whenever they make any new invention, they do patent or copyright. But we in India do not need any patent or copyright for Yoga as we wanted to popularize it worldwide , he added.
He also expressed his gratitude to the saints and gurus for promoting Yoga and also to those who are bringing perfection in it through scientific means. He said that apart from these, people like Baba Ram Dev and Ravi Shankar are making significant efforts in this direction.
Earlier, speaking on this occasion, Chief Minister Mr Manohar Lal described Yoga as an ancient practice and said that the present State Government has taken several steps for the promotion of Yoga in the State. He said that yesterday only, the State Government has constituted Yog Parishad so that the people of all walks of life adopt Yoga in their life and ensure their physical, mental and spiritual development. He said that a decision has also been taken to construct Yog or Vyamshalas in villages of the State. In the same series, as many as 1000 Yog or Vyamshalas have so far been constructed. Apart from this, recruitment of Yoga trainers is also being made in the State.
He said that International Yoga Day functions have been organized simultaneously at 80 places in the State in which about 5 lakh people participated. The Chief Minister also used this opportunity to thank Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi for getting recognition to Yoga at international level. He also thanked Union Home Minister Mr Amit Shah for taking part in the State Level Function of 5th International Yoga Day celebrations and said that this is Mr Shah’s first visit to Haryana after taking charge as Home Minister of the country.
Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, Mr Anil Vij thanked Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi for his efforts to get recognition to Yoga at international level. He said that this is a step forward in the direction of making India Vishvaguru again.
Among those present on this occasion included MP Rohtak Mr Arvind Sharma, MP Rajya Sabha and BJP National General Secretary Dr Anil Jain, BJP State President Mr Subhash Barala, Minister of State for Cooperation Mr Manish Grover, Chief Secretary Mr D.S Dhesi and other senior officers of the district administration.