From January 1 to February 7, each participating student has to perform 12 poses of Surya Namaskar, 13 times every day for 21 days. source : Shutterstock
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked higher education institutions across India to participate in a mass Surya Namaskar event on Republic Day as a part of the Centre’s ongoing ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to celebrate 75 years of Independence.
The National Yogasana Sport Federation (NYSF) has planned this event under its project of ensuring 75 crore Surya Namaskars involving 30,000 educational institutions and 3 lakh students from January 1 to February 7, the UGC stated in a notification issued on January 17.
The federation has also planned a musical Surya Namaskar in front of the Tricolour on January 26 and the UGC has requested active participation of students from various higher education institutes in the event.
“All the universities and their constituent/affiliated colleges are requested to participate, give wide publicity and disseminate information about the event among students, faculty and staff,” a letter from the UGC, addressed to the vice-chancellors of all varsities and principals of all colleges, stated.
According to the notification from UGC, institutes can register for the event on a website run by the National Yogasana Sport Federation:
https://www.75suryanamaskar.com/
Students can also register for the event individually. All the participating institutions have been requested to shoot a one-minute-long video of students performing Surya Namaskar. The institutes can also go live on Facebook while students perform the Yogasana.
In the period between January 1 and February 7, each participating student has to perform 12 poses of Surya Namaskar, 13 times every day for 21 days.
UGC has also issued the standard operating procedure (SoP) for the Republic Day celebrations at the universities and colleges and suggested activities such as plays, debates, quizzes and class projects on India’s freedom struggle, gallantry awards and victories of armed forces. The events can be organised virtually as well as on campus, the UGC stated.
Surya Namaskar, a practice in Yoga which has gained popularity even in the western countries due to its health benefits, involves a sequence of 12 linked Yoga positions.