Skip to main content

Muslims not recruited as Yoga teachers or trainers as a "matter of policy": Govt of India department

By Our Representative
The Union health and family welfare ministry's AYUSH department, whose job is to promote alternative medicines (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy), appears to believe that as a matter of “policy” it should not recruit Muslims as Yoga teachers or trainers.
In reply to a right to information (RTI) plea by an “investigative” journalist Pushp Sharma, the AYUSH department has said, "As per government policy, no Muslim candidate was invited, selected or sent abroad" in the year 2015 for the World Yoga Day, celebrated annually on June 21 and declared as “internationally recognized” by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014.
The All-India Muslims Personal Law Board (AMIPLB) in a controversial statement had said last year that there was a “contradiction” between Islam and Yoga. It is not known if the RTI reply was given, taking advantage of the AIMPLB's stance. Which came under heavy criticism, among others, several Muslim experts, who happen to be Yoga practitioners.
In reply to a right to information (RTI) plea to Pushp Sharma, the Government of India department said that a total of 711 Muslim candidates applied for short-term assignment (trainer/teacher) during the World Yoga Day, 2015, and but none was selected per a "government policy."
It further said that in all 3,841 Muslim candidates have applied as trainers/teachers, but not one among them was a Muslim.
Sharma, who claims to be an investigative journalist,had sought details of the total number Muslim candidates who had applied for short-term abroad assignment (trainers/teachers) during much-publicized World Yoga Day last year as also the total number of Muslims who had applied for it so far.
Taking strong exception to this, Milli Gazette's online edition comments, RTI, a gift of UPA, is like truth serum to take on the recessive and well-oiled lethal system", regretting, "Gone are the days of the well-scripted ‘Abki Baar Modi Sarkar’, now it’s time for frontal attacks on minorities by framing government policies to exclude them from public life, changing the BJP slogan to ‘Abki Baar Muslim Pe Vaar – Shukriya Modi Sarkar’." http://www.milligazette.com/news/13831-we-dont-recruit-indian-muslims-modi-govts-ayush-ministry
It adds, "It is common knowledge that the ongoing communal agenda of the Modi government is responsible for raising the level of communal hatred in the country to an unprecedented high level even in government corridors though it is difficult to prove.”
The journal further says, “Here we have, for the first time in the life of this government, a written, blunt RTI reply in our hands which unashamedly says that it’s Modi government policy not to recruit Muslims in government jobs. This reply obviously concerns a certain scheme in a small ministry. You can only think of the wider implications of this policy across the government."
Significantly, the AIMPLB, at its Jaipur meet just four days ahead of the World Yoga Day, which was widely propagated by by the Modi government, sharply criticized the move to “impose” Yoga, Surya Namaska and recitation of Bhagvat Geeta.
A senior expert, Dr Badrul Islam, who has been practicing Yoga for the last 35 years in Jamia Nagar, a minority-dominated area in Delhi, for the last 35 years, contested the AIMPLB's view saying, "The objections are based on a misunderstanding of what Yoga is. Islam has also written a handbook in Urdu on the subject and is a Yoga instructor with the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.
"Yoga is a clean thing, it helps you to connect with yourself, keeps you alert, smart and fit. As for surya namaskar, Islam enjoins you not to bow in front of anyone but Allah, so don't turn to the sun when doing it. Think of it as a form of exercise," said Islam, who is also a member of the NCERT editorial board that developed a curriculum for yoga in schools.

Comments

fazal said…
Mohamed Fazlulla · University BDT College of Engineering (UBDTCE)
"Its an attempt to defame us, I will order a probe into this-Sripad Naik,Ayush Minister pic.twitter.com/N6M2psbYim
10:42 AM - 12 Mar 2016"
That question of defaming, does it arise? Forget about selection,and how can it happen when none were called to an interview. the hidden agenda is exposed. It's shameless for the Minister to say otherwise. We were all the time thinking here are the Bstds, and they have just said yes we really are

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.