Kolkata, June 22 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Yoga has connected the world to India by bringing people together, as he led the 12th International Yoga Day (IYD) celebrations at Kolkata's Red Road. The Prime Minister's remarks, against the backdrop of multiple conflicts and geopolitical tensions across the world, came across as an argument that yoga, an ancient Indian practice, holds relevance beyond personal health and wellness, with the potential to promote collective peace and harmony across societies. "Yoga is not just for a better personal life but for the world's future," Modi said in his inaugural address. The celebration started at 6.30 am when the PM reached the venue from Lok Bhawan (formerly Raj Bhawan) where he spent the night. He was accompanied by West Bengal governor RN Ravi, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, Union minister of state for the ministry of Ayush Prataprao Yadav and other senior dignitaries. "June 21 is the longest day in our part of the world, and now it is the day the world celebrates its biggest festival. Yoga has connected the world to India. It brings people together. Today, I offer my best wishes to the world community," Modi said. "This year's theme is Yoga for Healthy Aging. It means that age does not reduce human potential. Yoga can help human life to aspire for growth. Our target must be to be more energetic at 50 than we were at 30. We must be more resistant to lifestyle diseases at 70 than we were at 50. This is where Yoga can help us," Modi said. President Droupadi Murmu said yoga is an invaluable gift of India's cultural heritage to the world, playing a vital role in guiding humanity towards peace and harmony amid multiple global challenges. The president took part in a mass yoga session at Jabalpur's Garrison Ground. "We are celebrating India's great tradition that has shown humanity the path to a healthy, balanced and meaningful life," she said. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said yoga offers a timeless framework for finding stillness in an otherwise chaotic world as he performed Yoga at the Supreme Court premises to celebrate International Yoga Day. Yoga is the practical vehicle for that philosophy, offering a timeless framework to find stillness in an otherwise chaotic world," he said. To celebrate the day, Hundreds of students across madrassas in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri and Etah districts participated in special sessions. From the celebrated Taj Mahal in Agra to the iconic Warangal Fort in Telangana, yoga sessions were hosted on the premises of several ASI sites across the country to mark the International Day of Yoga. In Shimla, hundreds of people, including foreign tourists, students, security personnel and residents, participated in the International Day of Yoga celebrations at the historic Ridge Ground, highlighting the growing global appeal of the ancient Indian practice. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) celebrated the International Yoga Day in a unique riverine setting by conducting yoga sessions aboard vessels sailing on the Brahmaputra River across Assam. Similar events were organised in Delhi, Imphal, Ranchi, Gangtok, Chandigarh, Vijayawada, Itanagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar and Jaipur, among other places, with governors and chief ministers taking part. A large number of armed forces personnel took part in yoga sessions across the country to mark the occasion. Meanwhile, the Nagaland government has deferred the official programme to mark International Day of Yoga to Monday in the face of strong opposition from student bodies, tribal organisations, church and political bodies over holding the event on a Sunday in the Christian-majority state. The School Education Department issued a revised order, directing the Directorate of School Education to postpone the observance of the day in all institutions to June 22. The Naga Students' Federation (NSF) argued that Sunday is a sacred day of worship and that compelling schools to organise yoga programmes amounted to disregarding the constitutional rights and beliefs of the people....