New Delhi (NVI): The Yoga ban in public schools in US state of Alabama might end soon as the state’s House of Representatives has passed a bill to allow students to decide if they want to practice the ancient Indian art.
On Thursday, Alabama’s House of Representatives passed a bill, in a 73-to-25 vote, that will lift a quarter-century ban on Yoga in public schools.
According to a report in Washington Post, Yoga was forbidden by the Alabama Board of Education in 1993 after opposition by conservative groups.
The measure is being seen as a positive step, amid reports of racism and violence against Asian Americans and other minorities.
Democratic Representative Jeremy Gray, who introduced the bill, has been trying to turn the ban on Yoga since 2019. On Tursday, the State’s House of Representatives passed a bill that would override the ban. The bill, which was approved by a vote of 73 to 25, will soon be taken up by the Senate.
According to Gray, who himself started practicing yoga in college as a football player, said yoga is everywhere in the state, even for prison inmates.
However, there are still caveats on how much Yoga will be allowed in schools as the activity will be limited to poses and stretches while teaching ‘namaste’ as a greeting is “forbidden”.
-ARK
