Yoga originated in Nepal, not India, claims Nepal PM

KP Sharma Oli’s earlier statement that ‘real’ Ayodhya lies in Nepal had triggered outrage in India

File: Nepal’s prime minister KP Sharma Oli speaks at the parliament in Kathmandu on 10 May, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

On the seventh International Yoga Day, Nepal’s prime minister KP Sharma Oli claimed that yoga originated in his country and India did not exist when the practice started.

He was speaking at an event held at his residence to mark the International Yoga Day.

He said: “Yoga originated in Nepal, not in India. At the time when yoga came into existence, there was no existence of India as it was divided into factions.”

21 June is observed annually as the International Day of Yoga since 2015.

Mr Oli said India, divided into factions, at that time was like a continent or subcontinent, and did not exist like it does today. “Therefore, yoga originated in Nepal but we were unable to make it popular as we never gave credit to our saints who created it. We always spoke about the contributions of our professors,” Hindustan Times quoted him as saying.

He also said Nepal could not assert its claim on yoga as it should have and could not take it across the globe, as India did, according to media reports.

At the United Nations in 2014, the draft resolution establishing the day was proposed by India and endorsed by 175 member states.

The proposal was first introduced by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who is himself a practitioner of yoga, in his address during the opening of the 69th session of the General Assembly.

He had said at the time that “yoga is an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition” and urged the UN to work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.

On Monday, people in India and other countries performed yoga to mark the day even as Covid-19 dampened the celebrations.

Mr Oli’s earlier comments claiming that the “real” Ayodhya — the birthplace of Hindu god Ram — lies in Nepal, not in India, had triggered a controversy. He also claimed that Lord Ram, a physical incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, was born in Nepal.