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Tribune News Service
Shimla, June 16
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated the 5th International Yoga Day 2019 organised by the Embassy of India in Amsterdam in the Netherlands today. The event saw group yoga demonstrations, meditation sessions, music, dance and vegan food.
The CM said that International Day of Yoga was celebrated throughout the world for first time on June 21 in 2015 on the earnest call given by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, 2014 during his address to the UN general assembly.
He said over 170 countries, including the USA, China and Canada, were participating in the event. He said that today everybody has conviction about yoga practices preventing disease and promoting health. Representatives of Dutch armed forces participated in the yoga session. Dutch Ministry of Defence has introduced yoga exercises for armed forces to enrich their training program and reduce stress.
It was for the first time that the Dam Square was playing host to a public event related to India. The Square is the historical centre of Amsterdam with the neoclassical Royal Palace, the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), the Madame Tussauds and the National Monument erected in 1956 for the victims of World War II.
Representatives of the Royal Dutch army also joined the celebrations. They participated in the group common yoga protocol session and led the public in a special yoga workshop. A unique addition to the programme this year was promotion of Indian handicrafts through a Made in India display featuring live demonstrations by five national award winning master artisans from India. A short film produced by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department was also screened on the occasion.
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