Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan, may add yoga into the syllabus for all students, in which case, over 80,000 government schools, 329,000 teachers and 8.5 million students would make yoga a daily part of their life if this motion goes through.
The move is a result of recommendations from the Education Minister, Vasudev Devnani, who consulted with a committee on the many methods to reduce stress among students. Though the government has agreed to pass the motion in principle, an official declaration is still pending. A senior official told The Hindu, “Even the United Nations had now accepted yoga as a means to better health and announced June 21 as International Yoga Day.”
However, some members of the Rajasthan Teachers Association have opposed the move, on the grounds that it is a violation of the right to the freedom of religious expression. Specifically, the association seemed to take issue with the chanting of mantras or invocations. Spokesperson of the association Prakash Mishra, said, “We do not approach any issue with a closed mind but this is totally against the Constitution. Yoga involves chanting of mantras which we cannot impose on students, particularly those from the minorities. Hinduism also has atheists and those who do not believe in idol worship. What about them?”
This is however quite surprising when the United Nations resolution for International Yoga Day was passed by 191 member nations, including 40 Islamic nations.
