NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pitched for making yoga a part of everyone’s life as he led a historic event at the UN headquarters in New York to commemorate the 9th International Day of Yoga, attended by top UN officials, diplomats and prominent personalities.
The event witnessed the participation of yoga enthusiasts representing 135 nations, setting a new Guinness World Record for the highest number of nationalities partaking in a yoga session at the iconic North Lawn of the UN headquarters.
The attendees included diplomats, officials, academics, healthcare professionals, technocrats, and industry leaders such as Csaba Korosi, President of the 77th United Nations General Assembly, Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City, Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, Hollywood actor Richard Gere, and Michelin Star chef Vikas Khanna.
“Let us embrace yoga as a part of our well-being and make it an integral part of our lives,” Modi said. Citing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s message, he said: “Yoga brings us closer together and enhances the health of the planet.”
It was Modi who engineered the creation in 2014 of the International Day of Yoga every June 21 through a UN General Assembly resolution. “Yoga originates from India and, like all ancient Indian traditions, it is alive, dynamic, and universally applicable. Yoga is a way of life,” said Modi, adding: “Yoga is free from copyrights, patents and royalty payments.”
This year’s theme for International Yoga Day was ‘Yoga for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, which roughly translates to ‘one earth, one family, one future’. The PM, who is visiting the US at the invitation of President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, will join them for the state banquet along with a number of dignitaries on Thursday. He is also set to address a joint session of the US Congress.
Twitter will follow local rules: Musk
Prior to the yoga day event, Modi met several prominent figures, including industry leaders such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk. During the meeting, the PM invited Musk to explore investment opportunities in India, especially in the fields of electric mobility and commercial space. Musk responded that India has more promise than any other large country and that he is incredibly excited about its future.
Talking to reporters after meeting Modi, Musk said Twitter, the company he owns, does not have a choice but to follow local laws, adding: “We will do our best to provide the freest speech that is possible under the law”