Yoga Unites a Nation: PM Modi Leads Mass Session as Celebrations Span the Globe

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation's 12th International Day of Yoga celebrations at Kolkata's iconic Red Road on Sunday, performing asanas with thousands of participants as the Indian Army's Eastern Command stood watch on one side and the Maidan stretched out on the other. Dressed in white, the PM moved among the gathering during the 40-minute session, pausing frequently to correct postures and observe whether the Common Yoga Protocol was being followed correctly. Governor RN Ravi and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari , along with ministers including Dilip Ghosh , Agnimitra Paul and Dipak Barman , joined the more than 30,000-strong crowd. Adhikari used the occasion to take a swipe at the previous Trinamool Congress dispensation, claiming yoga had not been adequately promoted under the earlier regime.

Addressing the gathering, Modi said June 21, astronomically the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, has, because of yoga, become the world's largest community celebration. This year's theme, 'Yoga for Healthy Ageing' , formed the centrepiece of his remarks, with the PM declaring that the goal should be to remain "more flexible at 40 than at 20" and "more energetic at 50 than at 30." Drawing on the Bhagavad Gita, he said balanced habits and balanced living were the foundation of well-being, and urged people not to confine yoga to a single day in the calendar. Later, at Kolkata's Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Modi commissioned three indigenously built warships, stealth frigate INS Dunagiri , survey vessel INS Sanshodhak and anti-submarine craft INS Agray , built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers.

President Droupadi Murmu led the state-level celebrations at the historic Garrison Ground in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, the first time a sitting President has joined celebrations at the venue, previously visited by then Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar in 2023. Calling yoga a "precious gift" of India's cultural heritage, Murmu said the practice connects "the individual to the self, society to nature, and humanity to the vast universal." She was joined by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav , who invoked Maharishi Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga system, while Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai led a parallel event in Ambikapur.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performed yoga with around 1,000 Air Force and Army personnel at the Eastern Air Command headquarters in Shillong, alongside Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh , crediting Modi for steering the UN resolution, backed by a record 175 member states, that made the day a global observance. In Delhi, Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani led celebrations organised by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff at the National War Memorial, alongside Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit and other senior officers and their families. The Army separately organised a 3,500-strong event at Cariappa Parade Ground under Vice Chief Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth , drawing veterans, NCC cadets and families. Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi , who is set to retire later this month, also took part in celebrations with troops in Tezpur, with sessions also held at the Siachen Glacier, the Rann of Kutch and other frontier posts.

In Telangana , Hyderabad's Parade Grounds hosted a high-profile gathering led by Union Minister G Kishan Reddy , who noted the city has run a 24-hour countdown to Yoga Day for seven consecutive years. Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla , a former Vice President of India, former governors, MPs, MLAs, film actors and 45 foreign delegates were among the thousands present. Hyderabad also figured among 12 marquee national venues for the day's celebrations, alongside the Red Fort, Haridwar, Hampi and Konark, underlining the city's growing standing as a wellness hub built around institutions like Kanha Shanti Vanam, which had earlier hosted the 50-day countdown event in May.

In Andhra Pradesh , Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu joined yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna for the state's main event at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada's Labbipet, part of the government's statewide 'Yogandhra' programme. A day earlier, Naidu and Ramdev had also taken part in a session at the historic Undavalli Caves on the banks of the Krishna River, drawing around 750 participants. Ramdev, hailing Naidu as a "Karmayogi" of 30 years' standing, guided him through pranayama techniques at the Vijayawada event, while the Chief Minister credited Modi for taking yoga to 190 countries and called India "the guru of the world."

In Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta joined practitioners on the banks of the Blue Lake in Asola-Bhati, even as the Delhi Police held a separate session at their headquarters. AAP's Arvind Kejriwal called yoga "an invaluable gift" to the world, while striking images emerged from Agra of participants performing yoga against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal . UN Secretary-General António Guterres also acknowledged yoga's universal appeal, as embassies and community groups marked the day across continents — underscoring, once again, what officials describe as one of India's most effective soft-power exports.