Abstract
The article aims to introduce yoga as a tool used by political representatives of contemporary Indian nationalism to achieve their goals. The first part briefly outlines the historical development of yoga, from its beginnings to modern times, when it became a popular type of physical exercise around the world.
The interpretation draws attention to the fundamental changes in the concept of yoga during its various stages of development and to the fact that contemporary globalized yoga has very little in common with the original yoga tradition in India, because it did not acquire its current form until the 20th century. Yoga took this form due to the Western turn to body cultivation and to a healthy lifestyle.
The second part of the article describes the events leading to the establishment of International Yoga Day in 2014 at the instigation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It depicts the celebrations of this festival in India and also analyzes the reasons why the current Indian government supports yoga to such an extent that it has become a state cult.
The article presents an insight into one of current and highly controversial topics of political and cultural events in contemporary India.