Maharashtra: Yoga Day on every 21st of every month

The government of Maharashtra is all set to make its citizens health conscious and habituated to a healthy living by assigning the 21st of every month to be celebrated as Yoga Day. The announcement implies that schools, colleges and universities across the state will have to conduct not only yoga sessions, but also have lectures and activities that promote yoga and increase awareness about it among the students and teachers every month.

According to Vinod Tawde, school and higher education minister, the decision was taken in a recent meeting that he had with yoga institutions and their gurus to find ways to celebrate International Yoga Day on June 21. The meeting saw Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yog Samiti, Samarth Vyayam Mandir Bharat Swabhiman Nyas and Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Art of Living mull over the same and the outcome was to observe the 21st of every month as Yoga Day, not only in educational institutions, but also at the district level.

“In the meeting it has been decided that apart from 21st of every month being celebrated as Yoga day across all schools, colleges and universities of Maharashtra, every district will have to set up a Yoga Day committee at their levels to plan ‘Yoga Mahostav’ (Yoga Festival) every year in between January 12-21 and a separate committee at the state level will monitor and coordinate with these committees,” said Mr Tawde.

He added that the schools, colleges, technical and medical colleges in the respective areas would be expected to help promote and disseminate Yoga at district levels for these 10 days during the festival, Mr Tawde said. While appealing to yoga institutions to help in the promotion and dissemination of Yoga therapy, Mr Tawde said, “Swami Vivekanand’s birth anniversary, January 12, is celebrated as Yuvak Din (Youth Day) in the country. So during 10 days from January 12 to 21, all schools and colleges will have to organise Yoga Festival aiming to spread Yoga therapy in 40,000 villages across the state,” Mr Tawde said.