Two days before the Centre’s plans to celebrate International Yoga Day kicks off, church bodies in both Nagaland and Mizoram have expressed their opposition, saying the events to mark the day would hurt religious sentiments of Christians as Yoga Day falls on Sunday, a sacred day for the community.
Expressing its reservations, the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) said Yoga Day programmes, being held on a Sunday, would hurt the religious sentiments of Christians and the religious sanctity of the people, and the ‘enforcement’ of such a programme would amount to violation of religious freedom.
Meanwhile, a church body in Mizoram has gone a step further and urged people not to take part in Yoga Day.
The Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee (MKHC), a conglomerate of major churches of the state, has appealed to its church members not to participate in events to mark Yoga Day. MKHC secretary R Lalrinsanga said the move was taken in protest against Yoga Day being observed on a Sunday.
India Expres
