NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to seize on yoga as India’s signature cultural export have his Hindu nationalist allies swelling with pride, but are leaving minority religious groups feeling marginalized.

An enthusiastic practitioner of the regimen himself, Modi set up a new ministry for yoga last year. He also persuaded the United Nations to declare June 21 International Day of Yoga — the first of which will be celebrated in New Delhi on Sunday with a mega yoga event, with schools encouraged to take part.

“After the number zero this is India’s biggest contribution to society,” said Anil Ganeriwala, a joint secretary in the ministry. “It is a symbol of our cultural richness.”

The ministry says yoga is “widely considered as an ‘immortal cultural outcome’ of the Indus Saraswati valley civilizations,” which date back to 2,700 B.C.