Indian Muslims have taken to twitter to express their support for Maldivian youth who had interrupted the International Yoga Day events.
Videos posted on TMJ’s twitter account on the day have been commented on and shared and liked by Indian Muslim in a show of support.
One of the commentators said that parks and stadiums are not meant for religious practices, such as yoga, as per Hindus. Adding that “they didn't allowed Muslims juma prayers in Gurugram near Delhi despite permission from local authorities”, he asked why the same should be granted for yoga. The user capped the tweet by saying “Kudos to Maldives”.
Another user said that yoga is a soft power tactic embedded into Indian foreign policy. Stating that yoga is ‘subtly worshipping the sun’, he said that Prophet Ibrahim had rejected this.
Another commentator pointed out that this was a clear indication of Maldives rejecting Hindutva politics. This, he said, was a clear indication that the relationship between the two countries had soured due to the actions of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against Muslims of India.
A twitter user from Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir simply said “Well done”.
The event was held at dawn on Tuesday in National Football stadium, in collaboration with Indian Cultural Centre and Youth Ministry. The government’s decision to collaborate with the Ministry had come under public criticism. A social media campaign against the event had preceded Tuesday’s events. High profile religious scholars and political figures had spoken against the event as well.