‘Key mantra of Yoga Day is public participation’
Earlier, yoga was seen merely as a form of exercise by Indians, but now it has been made popular globally in its true form, said the minister.
Days ahead of the 9th International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21, Ayush minister Sarbananda Sonowal spoke about the relevance of observing the day, how India has popularised yoga globally, actions that the government has taken to stop self-proclaimed yoga gurus from running shops in the country and government emphasis on mainstreaming traditional therapies by launching integrated medicine centres in prominent hospitals. Edited excerpts from an exclusive interview:
What is expected in this year’s International Yoga Day celebrations?
The key mantra behind the success of past eight editions of International Day of Yoga has been ‘jan bhaagidari’ (public participation) and this year, too, we expect participation of at least 250 million people from across the world. In the eighth edition, we focused on creating the guardian yoga ring that celebrated the movement of the sun and started performing common yoga protocol at Fiji island with the rising sun and ending at San Francisco.
Last time, the direction was from east to west, and this time we are looking to go from north to south— north pole to south pole. This year, our first attempt will be to create the ocean ring, involving all five oceans. Our ministries of defence, external affairs and port, shipping and waterways will work in tandem and a common yoga protocol will be demonstrated on our ships wherever these are stationed.
The second point will be to go from the Arctic to Antarctica to activate our research centres there, one is Himadri and the other is Bharati. We will also involve nearby 10 countries. At the national level, we will create 50,000 amrit sarovars where yoga will be performed; it will also be performed in 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres and 2 lakh common service centres, among other places. The main event will be at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
How has celebrating this day since June 21, 2015, helped?
Earlier, yoga was seen merely as a form of exercise by Indians, but now it has been made popular globally in its true form. Yoga works at two levels— body and mind. Yoga is a drugless therapy and has several benefits, but earlier people globally weren’t much familiar with its benefits. Several countries and foreign institutions have signed and are signing MoUs with India to promote yoga in their country. WHO established its first Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in India last year, even though there are around 170 countries that practice traditional medicine. All this is a part of our success story.
What is the ministry doing to stop self-proclaimed yoga gurus from running centres in the country that may do more harm than good?
We have created a yoga certification board that assesses centres and trainers before awarding them a certificate. They have to follow certain protocols laid down by the certification board. It is advisable for people to opt for duly certified yoga trainers and institutes for authenticity.
India hasn’t really been able to monetise yoga as yoga gears and mats are still largely produced in other countries. Any plans to improve that?
We are making efforts in the direction under the Make in India initiative. Like other sectors, even in Ayush, manufacturing is being encouraged and promoted under that initiative. Things are moving in the right direction and we are seeing changes taking place. The market size has grown from $2.6 billion and is expected to reach $80 billion. We believe it will further grow after the 9th edition.
The government emphasis is on integrated medicine but in the absence of adequate scientific evidence in treatment of serious ailments such as cancer, do you think it will mislead people into believing in miracle cures that may not exist?
The scientific rigour is duly followed. We have started a centre at New Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital to work in tandem with modern system of medicine. The goal is the same, to bring relief to patients. We are offering a choice to patients, but it is not being forced upon them. The government is providing them a choice. There is a combined team created that assesses a patient’s case history, and treatment road map is followed based on taking the best of the systems that is right for the patient and treating them. For example, if surgery happens under modern medicine, traditional system can benefit in rehabilitation. A lot of research is being conducted in our central research institutes to scientifically prove benefits of the traditional medicine system.