The Yoga Drive Un-Constitutional, Un-Pluralistic
21 Jun 2015 ![logo]()
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0 commentsShare | The politics of hatred gives way to lies and deceit, controversies and uncertainties; for hatred has no leg to stand on its own. The hate-others juggernaut of Hindutva has proved it umpteen times, more so since its political wing, the BJP came to power at the Centre with thumping but democratically disproportionate majority and has been pushing the nation ahead with non-inclusive governance. After many provocative, anti-minority and un-Constitutional statements, now deceitful lies like 'no communal riot has occurred in the country during the last one year' and creating controversies like bid to impose compulsory yoga, surya namaskar and saraswati vandana, the practices of a particular religious culture, on our plural Bharat amount to violation of the very spirit of the Constitution of India and the secular fabric of the nation.
Calling yoga a mere exercise is a folly. Yoga is in fact an act of Hindu meditation as averred by Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia, who said that 'the utterance of word 'Om' and the practice of surya namaskar are integral to yoga and hold supreme importance'. But the practitioners of controversies have tried to hoodwink the religious minorities, saying that those who do not like to chant 'Om' can take the name of Allah. This shows their frantic bid to ensure maximum participation in yoga celebrations on 21 June.
It is not that all Hindutva leaders are ready to buy the idea that the word 'Om' can be replaced with Allah while doing yoga. Dr. Togadia has already opposed it, saying that 'the use of word Allah during yoga would be an insult to Lord Shiva'. So why are you urging Muslims to participate in the yoga celebrations, and thereby causing an insult to your deity? Some gullible members of the minority community might fall prey to their gameplan but Muslims know for certain that bowing before anyone or anything created by one Supreme Allah, the Creator and Master of the universe and all that lie between the heavens and the earth, is tantamount to indulging in shirk (polytheism) and they will never do this.
It is in the fitness of things that some Muslim and Christian organisations like All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Roman Catholic Church-operated Diocesan Society of Education have voiced their strong objection to this un-Constitutional move of the Government. It is high time all minority leaders shared a platform to tell the nation why participation in these acts of meditation like yoga, surya namaskar and saraswati vandana are detrimental to the respective beliefs of the minorities as well as to the secular ethos of the nation.