NEW DELHI -- In a startling response to a Right to Information query, the AYUSH Ministry has said that it did not hire Muslims for short-term positions as trainers for World Yoga Day as it was against government policy.
AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, and is the Ministry that promotes these branches of traditional medicine.
The AYUSH Ministry, under Sripad Naik, organized the first World Yoga Day on October 15, last year.
The RTI query filed by journalist Pushp Sharma sought to know how many Muslim candidates had applied and had been hired for short-term assignments during World Yoga Day.
The two questions were as follows:
In its response, the Ministry said that none of the 3,841 Muslim candidates, who had applied for the position of Yoga trainer or teacher till October 2015, were hired by the AYUSH Ministry, Milli Gazette reported.
It also revealed that none of the 711 Muslim yoga trainers, who had applied for the foreign assignment during the World Yoga Day, were hired.
While no Muslims were even called for an interview, the Ministry selected 26 Hindu trainers.
"As per government policy – No Muslim candidate was invited, selected or sent abroad," the RTI response said.
![mili gazette]()
HuffPost India has not independently verified the authenticity of the document posted online by Milli Gazette.
The United Nations General Assembly declared in 2014 that June 21 will be celebrated as International Yoga Day partly due to India's efforts to popularize yoga around the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the lead in championing the adoption of yoga. He is himself a yoga practitioner.
Also on HuffPost India:
AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, and is the Ministry that promotes these branches of traditional medicine.
The AYUSH Ministry, under Sripad Naik, organized the first World Yoga Day on October 15, last year.
The RTI query filed by journalist Pushp Sharma sought to know how many Muslim candidates had applied and had been hired for short-term assignments during World Yoga Day.
The two questions were as follows:
* Please provide the details, how many (total numbers) Muslim candidates had applied for short-term abroad assignment (Trainer/Teacher) during World Yoga Day 2015?
* How many Muslims applied for the post of Yoga Trainer / Teacher so far?
In its response, the Ministry said that none of the 3,841 Muslim candidates, who had applied for the position of Yoga trainer or teacher till October 2015, were hired by the AYUSH Ministry, Milli Gazette reported.
It also revealed that none of the 711 Muslim yoga trainers, who had applied for the foreign assignment during the World Yoga Day, were hired.
While no Muslims were even called for an interview, the Ministry selected 26 Hindu trainers.
"As per government policy – No Muslim candidate was invited, selected or sent abroad," the RTI response said.
HuffPost India has not independently verified the authenticity of the document posted online by Milli Gazette.
The United Nations General Assembly declared in 2014 that June 21 will be celebrated as International Yoga Day partly due to India's efforts to popularize yoga around the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the lead in championing the adoption of yoga. He is himself a yoga practitioner.
Also on HuffPost India: