Goa scraps Surya namaskar for students on World Yoga Day

The BJP-led coalition government in Goa on Tuesday withdrew a circular issued to schools earlier this month seeking the presence of students for public yoga and Suryanamaskar performances at an indoor stadium near here.

The move came in the light of the organisers of the yoga event, NGO Arogya Bharti, scrapping it due to "unavoidable circumstances".

The scrapping of the public yoga Suryanasmaskar demonstration and simultaneous withdrawal of the circular by the state education department on Tuesday, comes days after legislators from the minority community, especially from the ruling BJP-led coalition government expressed dissent at students being coerced into performing yoga on World Yoga day.

"On the request of the organiser, the heads of pre-primary/high schools and higher secondary schools are hereby informed that the event is cancelled due to unavoidable circumstances," said Education Director G.P. Bhat in the circular.

According to an earlier circular issued by Bhat, the World Yoga day event, being organised by Arogya Bharti, was to be held at the Shyamaprasad Mukherji Indoor Stadium on June 21 at 10.00 a.m.

The event was to sync with the numerous similarly coordinated events across the country and the world to celebrate World Yoga Day.

Minority MLAs from Goa, a state where Catholics account for nearly 26 percent of the state population, across party lines had raised objections to the compulsory participation of school students in yoga performances.

As June 21 was declared as the World Yoga Day in last December, yoga performances are expected to be conducted across the country as well as the world to commemorate the occasion.