Thousands of people in India celebrated the fifth International Yoga Day on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the celebrations at a mega show in Ranchi, where he performed asanas with 30,000 people. “Yoga for peace, harmony and progress,” he said on Twitter.
Modi urged everyone to make yoga an integral part of the daily routine. “I thank people across the world for joining Yoga Day celebrations, world over the first rays of the sun are being welcomed by dedicated yoga practitioners, it is a beautiful sight,” ANI quoted him as saying.
The theme of this year’s Yoga Day is climate action. In 2018, the main event was held in Dehradun at the Forest Research Institute.
Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and others participated in events across the country. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan urged people not to mistake yoga to be a religious practice. He said everyone, irrespective of caste, must practice asanas in order to stay fit and healthy.
All Indian missions across the world were asked to celebrate the International Day of Yoga in a grand manner. Modi sent a video message to be screened at all embassies at the beginning of the day’s celebrations.
In Delhi, over 18,000 people took part in an event organised on Rajpath. Here, for the first time, the participants used khadi yoga mats instead of plastic ones. Bharatiya Janata Party Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari said the party is hosting 300 yoga sessions in the national Capital alone. Around 10 lakh people participated in these events, he claimed.
Here are a few pictures of yoga celebrations from across the globe:
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