Over the past decade, yoga has spiked in popularity around the world and especially in the Middle East. This weekend, Dubai will play host to more than 100 yoga and natural healing courses as part of a two-day festival of yoga. In the past, the spiritual aspects of yoga have given the discipline a strained position in some circles but as society becomes more tolerant, attitudes have changed. In India, the debate about the sport’s provenance has even reached the highest levels of society.
As The National has reported, the Indian supreme court is debating whether yoga is a religious practice as it hears a petition to make yoga compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 13 in state schools. At the heart of the case is an assessment that yoga is intrinsically Hindu and to incorporate it into the curriculum would be to force a religious ritual on schools that are meant to be secular. As such, many non-Hindus argue that yoga is rooted in Hinduism and involves some practices that contradict their faiths. The controversy has been raging since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in India in 2014. Following his election victory, prime minister Narendra Modi has been pushing yoga as an instrument of soft power.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly last year, Mr Modi urged the UN to support the promotion of yoga around the world. He clarified that “yoga is an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition” and that there is no religious angle to it. In 2013, a California court ruled that yoga was devoid of any “religious, mystical or spiritual trappings” and could be taught in schools.
Yet, in a country where it is difficult to dissociate religion from almost anything, its introduction in schools by a Hindu nationalist government will always be seen with suspicion. If the proposal passes, the government ought to ensure that it is done only as a secular, holistic programme for mind, body and soul. As we have seen closer to home, yoga as a healthy activity free from religious connotation enjoys incredible popularity among people of all faiths.