The Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, with active support from the Government of Assam, organized a Yoga Utsav at the iconic holy site of Shivdol at Sivasagar in Assam to mark the 50 days countdown to International Day of Yoga, 2022 on 1st May. The event organised by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY) under the Ministry of Ayush, saw the participation of more than 10,000 yoga enthusiasts from all the northeastern states of India. The Utsav was simultaneously held at seven historic locations in Sivasagar district in Assam which included Thora Dol, Rudrasagar Dol, Ronghar, Tolatol Ghar, Kareng Ghar & Joydol, all places of historic importance, within the periphery of Sivasagar town. The event was aimed at creating awareness about the various dimensions of Yoga and its ability to enrich human lives. The Utsav theme ‘Make Yoga a part of Your Life’ was attended by dignitaries, students, and government officials.

The Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma; the Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal; the MoS for Ayush and WCD Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai, the Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Gas and Labour, Rameshwar Teli along with the State Health Minister of Assam, Keshab Mahanta, the Health Minister of Sikkim, Dr M K Sharma, the Health Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Alo Libang, the Health Minister of Nagaland, S. Pangnyu Phom attended the event. Apart from the ministers, the Members of Parliament from Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Senior officials from Central and all northeastern states including eminent dignitaries & experts, Yoga enthusiasts, and students participated in this Utsav. The demonstration of the Common Yoga Protocol was done by a team of MDNIY led by its Director, Dr Ishwar V. Basavaradi in the early morning at the holy premises at Sivadol in Shivsagar.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal said that the idea behind the Utsav is to encourage people to take up Yoga, a wonderful gift of our thousands of years of civilization, so that they can enrich their quality of life. He further said that as thousands of people from all the northeastern states came together at this pious land in the beautiful town of Sivasagar to perform yoga, it reinforces our sustained effort to put the iconic heritage sites of Assam in the tourism map of the world through this event today. The Minister said that in this event we tried to highlight the importance of Yoga in enriching our health & mind as well as celebrating our socio-cultural heritage by highlighting beautiful Ahom era architecture.

Sivasagar has been selected for the Yoga Utsav because the Prime Minister of India had unveiled a plan to develop five Archaeological sites viz. Rakhigari (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Sivasagar (Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu)) into “iconic” sites across India. The historical significance of Sivasagar is paramount as it was the epicenter of the Ahom kingdom which ruled between 13th and 19th century CE.

The eighth edition of International Day of Yoga (IDY2022) is being promoted through multiple programmes by the Ministry to take the message of Yoga across the world to a wider audience. A curtain raiser event to mark the 100 days countdown to IDY2022 was celebrated on 13th March while a 75-day countdown event was organized at the Red Fort in Delhi. The 25 days countdown to IDY2022 will be celebrated in Hyderabad. The International Day of Yoga is celebrated across the world on June 21 every year. This year, the Yoga Utsav is being celebrated across 75 heritage sites of historical importance as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ in order to give a fillip to the brand India.

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