Maldives: Angry mob disrupts yoga day event organized by Indian govt

On Tuesday morning, an enraged mob stormed Maldives' main football stadium, disrupting a yoga and meditation session arranged by the Indian High Commission in Male. 

Protesters allegedly held posters declaring yoga to be against Islam's tenets even before the programme began. According to a report by The Edition, a Maldivian news agency, a section of Islamists feel that doing yoga is equivalent to worshipping the Sun, which is considered a blasphemous act in Islam. 

The demonstrators, who were holding banners, posters, and shouting slogans, are said to have asked that the Yoga Day celebrations be cancelled and that all participants leave the stadium immediately.

The Indian Cultural Centre coordinated with the Union Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment on the occasion of the International Yoga Day, to host a yoga and meditation event in Male. Attendees at the event, however, were unable to complete their meditation owing to the mob's disturbance.

The Maldives Police Service issued a statement on the incident, announcing the initiation of a high-priority inquiry into the event's interruption. According to the evidence at hand, the police reported that the protestors were allegedly using things stolen from the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) office, and six persons have been arrested in connection with the same. The Serious and Organized Crime Department of the Crime Investigation Command will investigate the occurrence with the utmost urgency, according to the police department, which also stated that all necessary steps would be taken by the department to safeguard the safety of the whole community.

The Government of Maldives also expressed its strong condemnation of the incident. In a statement released on Tuesday, the authorities stated, “The Government strongly condemns the violent acts perpetrated by a group of individuals targeting the participants, including members of the diplomatic community who were attending the celebrations held to mark the 8th United Nations International Day of Yoga. Such malicious acts of violence aimed at disrupting public safety and undermining security of individuals and the diplomatic corps will not be tolerated.”

Every year on June 21, the world celebrates International Yoga Day. Since 2015, the Maldives has observed International Yoga Day every year, as well. On December 11, 2014, the United Nations unanimously proclaimed the day as International Day of Yoga, with 177 nations, including the Maldives, co-sponsoring the resolution.

(With inputs from Geeta Mohan)

 

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