Chandrababu Naidu Advocates for Yoga’s Olympic Inclusion at International Yoga Day Event in Vizag
Visakhapatnam, June 21: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the grand celebration of the 11th International Yoga Day in Visakhapatnam, which saw participation from over 300,000 people. Praising Prime Minister Modi for his efforts in globalizing yoga, Chief Minister Naidu proposed the inclusion of yoga in the Olympic Games, as well as the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
Naidu commended PM Modi for transforming yoga into a global wellness movement through his leadership and initiatives at the United Nations. “Yoga Day is now celebrated in over 175 countries, with participation from more than 100 million people,” he noted. Thanking the Prime Minister for choosing Andhra Pradesh to host the main event, he emphasized the state’s commitment to promoting yoga as a means of enhancing health, focus, and youth empowerment.
The Chief Minister announced that yoga will be integrated into Andhra Pradesh’s education and community development programs. “Our goal for Swarna Andhra @ 2047 is to build a healthy, wealthy, and happy state,” Naidu stated, urging citizens to dedicate one hour to yoga daily.
In a remarkable display of discipline and dedication, over 25,000 tribal students from the Alluri Sitharama Raju district performed 108 Surya Namaskarams in 108 minutes. This performance is expected to earn official recognition as a world record during the Yogandhra-2025 celebrations.
The students, drawn from various tribal welfare and ashram schools in regions such as Paderu, Araku, and Chintapalli, were trained for weeks by senior yoga instructor Pathanjali Srinivasa Rao. Equipped with yoga mats and attendance barcodes, and accompanied by the spiritual chants of ‘Omkaram,’ the event created an electrifying atmosphere of unity and health awareness.
“I feel more focused in my studies after doing yoga,” said P. Anusha from G. Madugula, while K. Santosh from Araku expressed his excitement about performing before the Prime Minister.
Following the session, IT Minister Nara Lokesh confirmed the record achievement and announced that weekly yoga sessions would now become part of the curriculum in all government schools starting June 21. He praised the Central government’s support and PM Modi’s affection for Visakhapatnam, marking this as the Prime Minister’s second visit to the city within a year.
As Andhra Pradesh sets new milestones in the wellness movement with the Yogandhra campaign, the call for making yoga a part of the Olympic spirit continues to gain momentum.
