Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel perform yoga on International Yoga Day in Khasa on the outskirts of Amritsar on June 21, 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 21 hailed the first International Yoga Day as a ‘new era of peace’, moments before he took to a mat and joined thousands in the heart of New Delhi to celebrate the ancient Indian practice.  The  government has been projecting the United Nation’s acceptance of International Yoga as an affirmation of India’s growing stature in world stage and its soft power.

Yoga Compulsory For Central Armed Police Forces:

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi’s latest news last week was the success of his selfie-with-daughter campaign on Twitter. Narendra Modi twitted that “We are working towards modernising agriculture & focussing on increased productivity. This will benefit the farmers.” Medical researchers in Kolkata have found a set of genes that can trigger kidney stones among Indians. The government has made daily Yoga compulsory for the 10 lakh-strong central armed police forces (CAPF) and expects status reports every day. The Centre has also sought a compliance report from each force.

CRPF Director General Prakash Mishra called “it a good move on the part of the government to make yoga a part of the daily activity of jawans”. Yoga can calm the mind but our focus is more on physical fitness. For our jawans to be alert, they need to follow strict cardio exercises, which yoga cannot fulfil. Sanjoy Narayan says that in the Indian economy, 10% is the new 8%.

Yoga is an invaluable gift to India’s ancient tradition and it is the responsibility of everyone to preserve it by adopting it as a part of daily activity.