It was not just the Rajpath that was abuzz with physical activity. The same excitement was seen in the high-profile Tihar Jail as well where over 10,000 inmates at the Tihar Central Jail, along with the prison officials, performed yoga on Sunday to mark the maiden International Yoga Day. The inmates had been practicing for the grand event for almost a month, said a prison official.
“Over 10,000 inmates on Sunday performed yoga in their barracks. Prison officials also participated in the two-hour event which started at 6.30 am,” he said.
Inmates and prison officials have enthusiastically taken part and had been practicing yoga an hour every day for the last one month, said the official.
He further said that the Tihal Jail administration has introduced one-year yoga curriculum at the end of which participating inmates would be issued a certificate after completing their jail term. “This will help them become yoga instructors and earn livelihood through that,” said the official.
He added that yoga instills positive energy in body and mind. “These practice sessions have helped the Tihar inmates in soothing their anger and instances of violence amongst the inmates have reduced considerably,” he added.
Inmates belonging to all religions took part in the event, the official said that inmates while practicing yoga “rose above the barriers of religion and got engaged in the exercise”.