Yoga Day 2022: PM Narendra Modi leads celebrations from Mysuru, top ministers to join from 75 iconic locations

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New Delhi:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi formally kicked off the International Yoga Day 2022 celebrations from the heritage city of Mysuru on Tuesday. He was joined by nearly 15,000 yoga enthusiasts who also participated in the event at the Mysore Palace grounds. The PM started the event by delivering a speech around 5:30 AM followed by a 45-minute long Yoga session during which at least 15 asanas were performed.

I extend my greetings to all on this 8th #InternationalYogaDay. Today, Yoga is being practiced in all parts of the world. Yoga brings peace for us. The peace from Yoga is not only for individuals, it brings peace to our nations and the world: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/A2rg5GJCP7 — ANI (@ANI) June 21, 2022

This year's International Yoga Day celebrations hold significance since it marks the 75th year of India’s Independence. This year, the theme for the celebration is "Yoga for humanity", keeping in mind the physical, emotional and mental stress that people went through because of the pandemic.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister had on Monday said, "Tomorrow, June 21 will be marked as International Yoga Day. Guided by the theme of `Yoga For Humanity`, let us make this Yoga Day a success and further popularise Yoga." 

कल यानि 21 जून को अंतर्राष्ट्रीय योग दिवस मनाया जाएगा। इस बार यह आयोजन ‘मानवता के लिए योग’ की थीम के तहत होगा। आइए, हम सब मिलकर इसे सफल बनाएं एवं योग की लोकप्रियता को और बढ़ाएं। https://t.co/UESTuNPNbW — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 20, 2022

Keeping the overarching theme of the 75 years of India`s independence the Ministry for Ayush has identified 75 locations for Union Ministers to participate in the Yoga Day celebration. While Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will be joining the Prime Minister from Mysore, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be performing yoga at the IAF base in Coimbatore. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be performing Yoga in Delhi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be present at Purana Qila in Delhi whereas Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will be present at the iconic Red Fort.

Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy will join the Yoga celebrations from the Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad whereas Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur will be present in Hamirpur. 

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju will be performing yoga at Dong village in Arunachal Pradesh whereas Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey will join the Yoga celebrations From the iconic Puri Beach.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will be present at the Sun Temple in Konark in Odisha whereas Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be at Jantar Mantar in the national capital. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be at the Marine Drive in Mumbai whereas Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will be at the statue of unity in Kevadia, Gujarat. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi will be in Hampi while Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will be at the Gwalior Fort. Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari will be at the Zero Milestone in Nagpur whereas Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will be at the Sand Dunes in Jaisalmer. 

Minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will be at the Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh whereas Giriraj Singh will be at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar. Minister for State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal will be in Jaipur, Minister of State for external affairs V Muraleedharan will be at the Padmanabhava Temple in Kerala, MoS Road and Transport VK Singh will be at the Kochi Fort.

Minister for State for Defence Ajay Bhatt will be at the Wagah border. Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh will be in Jammu and MoS Health Bharati Pawar will be at the Martand Sun Temple at Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir. 

It was during his speech at the UN General Assembly in September 27, 2014, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi first floated the idea of the International Yoga Day. 

The draft resolution passed by India was supported by 177 nations. With universal recognition and growing popularity of Yoga, the United Nations declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga on December 11, 2014. The first International Yoga Day was celebrated on June 21, 2015.