June 21, 2019, marked the fifth anniversary of International Yoga Day—commonly known as Yoga Day—since it was unanimously declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. Since then, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has politically capitalised on it: Prime Minister Narendra Modi openly endorsed and advocated for Yoga’s benefits; various yoga asanas have made its way to urban households and rural villages.

Today’s celebration of Yoga Day was marked by Modi performing various asanas with around 40,000 yoga enthusiasts at Prabhat Tara ground in Ranchi. The occasion was live streamed from various angles and in various frames on the internet, as well as on television news channels. Similarly, in the capital, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar, RK Singh and BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, got together at 6 am at Janpath, to participate in the mammoth Yoga Day event. There was a stage, there were loudspeakers, a host, and last but not least, heavy deployment of police and military personnel. The ministers performed various asanas, took turns to say a few words, broadcasted Modi’s Yoga Day speech live on a big screen, and stressed on the benefits of practising yoga daily.

However, there’s more to these events than meets the eye. At Rajpath, these included not-so-subtle political plugs, public scuffles, and an innate love for selfies. Words like “naya Bharat (new India)” was thrown around a fair few times and connected to the role of a “svasth Bharat (healthy India)”.

The extravagant gathering also gave leaders an opportunity to interact with a massive crowd that had assembled there. Amid a sea of colourful yoga mats, Rajnath Singh was asked to say a few words on the stage, before he and his company took part in demonstrating various asanas under the guidance of yoga teachers. At first, the mike offered to the Defence Minister, refused to work. People tripped over the wires to find what went wrong. Finally, a flustered host ran up to him and offered her mike instead.  

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses the crowd at Rajpath on International Yoga Day.

Singh went on to talk about how yoga has spread across the world—courtesy PM Narendra Modi. The term “cultural diplomacy” was used to describe yoga’s outreach. He spoke of how “even Islamic states have adopted yoga” and how it’s become a part of the West’s style. “Yog aur karmyog mein badi taqat hai (Yoga and karma have huge power),” said Singh. “Yog jo hai, woh mazhab ko jod deta hai (Yoga can connect religions).”

The big screens then switched from showing the ministers on stage to a live telecast by PM Modi, in which he urged people to make yoga an integral part of their lives. “We should make efforts to take yoga from cities to villages and tribal areas,” he said. “Yoga is above religion, caste, colour, gender and region—it is above everything.” He also expressed concern over young people becoming more prone to heart problems, and said that this year’s theme was “Yoga for the heart.”

The crowd that had assembled at Rajpath was as diverse and varied as the colours of their yoga mats. At the back were larger groups, a chatty bunch, while up front, near the stage and cameras, were individuals who knew what they were doing. At 7 am, when the ministers got off the stage to perform asanas, cops haughtily asked people crowding near the bottom of the stage to move back. At one point, the host scolded the crowd: “Aap yahan yoga karne aaye hai ki kya karne aaye hai. Aap sabhi log baith jaiye (Have you come here to perform yoga or what. Everyone please sit down).”

The ministers then took to the ground to perform various asanas, with some calming flute music playing on the loudspeakers. The stage was taken by three people who demonstrated each asana as a male narrator described over the mike what had to be done and what was its benefit. His instructions were mirrored in a sing-song voice in English by the female host. The crowd around the ministers thickened, separated only by a handful of security personnel, while the performers on stage remained forgotten.

The demonstration of asanas by the ministers wasn’t the most graceful. During the various asanas—positions including sitting down, standing up, and lying down—while some couldn’t lift their legs straight up into the air while lying on their back, others struggled with simply getting up, and off the matt.

This was also the perfect occasion for people to plug their respective yoga centres. Several of them were handing out miniature pamphlets in the crowd and saying “isko har roz karne se bohot faayda hota hai (there are several benefits if you perform it daily).”

Lending an illusion of authenticity to the event was Siddh Yogi Raj DM Baba, hailing from Amritsar, Punjab. His dreadlocks were a coveted piece for most television crews, and his saffron clothing seemed oddly out of place—yet gallant—amid a crowd that was mostly sporting white coloured t-shirts with “Antrashtriya Yoga Divas” printed at the back.

Siddh Yogi Raj DM Baba talks about Modi, yoga and Pakistan—all in one breath.

He spoke with Newslaundry about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in bringing yoga to the global forefront, and strangely enough, in a task that would seem impossible to most, made a connect between Modi, yoga—and Pakistan.

As the event came to an end, a squabble ensued at the back, over yoga mats and something about a cellphone.

Police break-up a scuffle between two groups.

Cops had to come and break it up. But even this couldn’t appease the crowd’s incessant need for selfies, which continued despite the momentary disturbance. “Manney Pradhan Mantriji yog ke madhyam se duniyo ko jod rahe hai (Respected PM is trying to connect the world using yoga as a medium),” was one of the last signing-off messages heard over the loudspeaker.