No surya namaskar sessions in Mumbai colleges: Defy state education department order

None of the colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai have followed the state education department’s directive to hold surya namaskar sessions every morning between 12 and 26 January. [caption id=“attachment_2057475” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] College principals said they had not received any such directive from the University, reported The Times of India. The report also quoted an official from a Vile Parle college as saying, “The education department should not entertain requests from any outfit with political links. Though yoga is a good practice and should be followed, it is not feasible to hold practical sessions on college premises. It is not a practical idea.” After a ‘request’ letter from Krida Bharti, a sports organisation associated with the right-wing RSS, the Directorate of Higher Education in Pune and Maharashtra’s Higher and Technical Education department urged colleges in the state to hold training and practice sessions of surya namaskar, according to Indian Express. The sessions were supposed to be held between 12 January, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and 26 January, Republic Day, to mark Vivekananda’s birth anniversary. “We have been celebrating the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda as national youth day, and Surya Namaskar din and rathsaptami since 2005 in Maharashtra. If it is implemented at the university level, it will spread a good message among the youth,” said the ‘request’ letter, according to Indian Express. On the other hand, in Madhya Pradesh, the situation was completely different. Around 10 million students across the state performed surya namaskar on 12 January for nothing less than 90 minutes, according to Hindustan Times. “There were reports of children fainting during the programme held between 11am and 12.30pm,” said the report. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said on 12 January that maintaining health was vital to get ahead in life, according to PTI. “Exercise and yoga are necessary for a healthy body,” Chouhan had said while addressing a mass Surya Namaskar Programme at Boys Higher Secondary School, Bairagarh. He added that Swami Vivekananda used to say that nothing is impossible for a human being and life of a person should not be wasted. Chouhan then exhorted children to practice yoga and pranayam daily to keep healthy. Later, he himself performed Surya Namaskar and pranayam with the children. (With inputs from PTI)