Madrasas across Bengal held yoga demonstration programmes last Tuesday as part of the observance of the 12th International Day of Yoga on June 21, an event that madrasas were not required to observe until last year.

Paschimbanga Samagra Shiksha Mission, a wing of the school education department, asked madrasa and government and aided colleges to observe the programme in the run-up to the June 21 event.

This newspaper reported on June 7 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lead the International Yoga Day event in Calcutta on June 21, and the Bengal government has directed district administrations and departments to ensure the participation of people from all walks of society in the celebrations.

A directive of the education department said the yoga demonstration programme “may be conducted in a befitting manner to promote awareness regarding the benefits of yoga and healthy living”.

The school sub-inspectors (SI) and district education officers have been asked to share high-resolution photographs of the event immediately after completion of the programme for documentation and reporting purposes.

The district education officers have been asked to monitor the implementation of the programme in madrasas and other academic institutions.

All the 1,600 madrasas under the ambit of the minority affairs and madrasa education department performed yoga.

Seikh Manjur Ahmed, headmaster of Dahakanda Siddiquia High Madrasah in South 24-Parganas, said 350 students performed yoga as instructed by the state government.

“We took pictures of the event and had it uploaded on a social media group so school sub-inspectors could access them,” said Ahmed.

Sanjay Barua, headmaster of Narayan Das Bangur Memorial Multipurpose School on Bangur Avenue, said 650 students performed yoga on Tuesday.

Madrasas across Bengal, including those in districts such as Malda and Murshidabad, complied with the directive, an official of the minority affairs and madrasa education department said.

Prime Minister Modi first proposed establishing an International Day of Yoga in September 2014.

The observance began the following year.

Over the past 11 years, International Yoga Day has been rarely observed in Bengal’s educational institutions because the previous Trinamool Congress regime did not promote it.

But the change of guard on May 4 has altered the scenario, said political scientist Maidul Islam.

In the past 11 years, International Yoga Day has been hardly observed in Bengal’s academic institutions because the previous Trinamool Congress regime opposed its promotion.

But a change of guard on May 4 has changed the scenario, said political scientist Maidul Islam.

“The observation of yoga in madrasas and schools 12 days before the actual event on June 21 suggests that the BJP’s sphere of influence has expanded and Bengal has come under the influence of the party that rules both at the Centre and in the state. Naturally, the government will now promote events and observances it considers important,” said Maidul Islam.