Namita Thapar sparks backlash over namaz and Surya Namaskar comparison

Namita Thapar’s comparison of namaz postures with Surya Namaskar has turned into a fierce online flashpoint, with the Shark Tank India judge drawing abuse for nearly three weeks after a March 25 Instagram reel posted around Eid. In that post, Thapar described namaz as a “full-body exercise” and said it could support flexibility, posture, digestion, joint and knee health, and mental well-being.

Thapar answered back on April 20 with a video recorded during her morning commute at about 7 a.m., saying the backlash had spiraled into abusive slurs aimed at both her and her mother. She stressed that her remarks came from a healthcare and wellness perspective, not as promotion of any religion, and said she had made similar reels on Hindu practices such as yoga and Surya Namaskar without facing the same reaction.

Her response sharpened the cultural fault line at the center of the dispute. Thapar said the “R” in religion should stand for respect, especially toward women, and urged people to speak up when dignity or basic human rights are attacked. She also said “silence is not a virtue” and “God is watching,” language that framed the episode not as a fitness debate but as a test of basic civility online.

The controversy has revived an older argument that surfaced in 2017, when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said many Surya Namaskar postures closely resemble Islamic namaz and asked how yoga could be called communal. That comparison drew criticism at the time, but it did not produce the same wave of social media backlash now following Thapar’s comments.

For the yoga community, the episode underscores how quickly a conversation about shared movement patterns can become charged when it crosses into questions of faith, identity and political loyalty. The practical point at the heart of Thapar’s reel, that repeated bending, standing and breath-led movement can affect the body, was quickly overtaken by accusations of cultural theft and charges of communal double standards.