Hundreds of Indian Americans gathered near Washington for a Viksit Bharat Unity Run featuring running, yoga and meditation….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Hundreds of Indian Americans gathered at Gravelly Point Park in Virginia for a Viksit Bharat Unity Run organised by the Indian Embassy, combining running, yoga and meditation with a message of fitness, unity and community participation.
Held near the Potomac River just outside Washington, the event brought together members of the Indian diaspora and friends of India as part of an initiative promoting physical fitness and community engagement.
The Indian Embassy described the gathering as a joyful morning in a social media post, saying hundreds of people had joined the Unity Run to celebrate fitness, unity and the spirit of the community.
The Embassy also highlighted yoga and meditation sessions held alongside the run and thanked participants for taking part.
Participants spoke about the growing emphasis on fitness in India and the role of government initiatives in encouraging people to incorporate physical activity into their daily routines.
“The Fit India Movement by the government of India is a great initiative to encourage and motivate the fitness culture in India,” one participant said.
The participant said maintaining regular physical activity was important for both physical and mental well-being.
“It just helps you stimulate your mental and physical wellbeing, and making fitness a daily part of your life is very essential in today’s life, in today’s day and age,” the participant said.
Another participant pointed to what he described as a growing fitness culture in India, including the increasing popularity of organised fitness events.
“I think there’s a huge fitness surge in India currently. There are new fitness events that keep coming up, and everything is sold out,” he said.
“That’s something new for us, and everyone’s chasing their limits and trying to get beyond them,” he added.
He also highlighted the growing international reach of yoga and its connection with India’s broader fitness initiatives.
“And as far as yoga goes, I think we have started a new initiative all over the world,” he said.
The participant recalled taking part in International Yoga Day activities during the Covid pandemic, saying such initiatives had also encouraged him to take up yoga.
“Fitness is the matter of talking point in India right now, which is a change I feel,” he said.
The participant also pointed to increased investment in sports infrastructure across India.
“I think there’s a huge boost in investment in the sports infrastructure in India. Everywhere you go, you see new complexes built for sports,” he said.
He said the development of facilities was also benefiting recreational athletes, including runners.
“I also feel that as a non-professional athlete as well, if I have to go run somewhere, the proper running tracks to run on, so that’s a focus in that angle,” he said.
The participant also highlighted India’s improving performances in international sport.
“Apart from that, I also feel, now as far as our performances in international sports go, we are also performing in field. We’re also excelling in fields which we are not considered to work in at one point of time,” he said.
“So that’s really good news in terms of the whole Fit India initiative.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Fit India Movement in 2019 as a national campaign encouraging people to make physical activity and sport part of their daily lives.
India has also promoted yoga internationally for more than a decade. The United Nations proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga in 2014, while Indian diplomatic missions around the world have since organised public yoga and wellness events.
