NEW DELHI : Although Shripad Yesso Naik, an elected MP from Goa, got independent charge of AAYUSH that covers Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy and other medical practices, the western media calls him as India’s first Yoga minister.
In the latest dispatch in the Washington Post, he is hailed for his efforts in making Surya Namaskar (Sun saluatiton) and other Yoga poses as popular in India as they are around the world.
“Yes, India now has a minister of yoga — and he and his government want their cultural bliss back. Indian yogic tradition appeared in Hindu texts written thousands of years ago. But it bears scant resemblance to the popular exercise regime that has become a multibillion-dollar industry in the West,” says the daily.
It notes that in recent weeks, the Indian officials have begun efforts to reclaim yoga for the home team, making plans for a broad expansion of the wellness practice into all facets of civic life — more than 600,000 schools, thousands of hospitals and police training centres. They are spearheading efforts to promote and protect India’s most famous export, even quietly weighing a “geographical indication” for yoga, a trade protection normally given to region-specific goods such as Champagne from France or oranges from Florida.