Rahul Gandhi announces 'Bharat Dojo Yatra' on National Sports Day

Sharing glimpses of his jiu-jitsu, aikido and meditation practice that kept him fit and focused during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, 29 August — India's National Sports Day — announced a ‘Bharat Dojo Yatra’ ahead.

It turns out that a makeshift dojo, a martial arts akhada wherever he camped served as the stage for an unexpected bonding space during the yatra. Here, Gandhi engaged his fellow travellers and locals in jiu-jitsu — a form of Brazilian martial arts based on the Japanese jujitsu — and other 'gentle arts' of self-defence the Congress leader practises.

In a post on X, Gandhi shared a video highlighting this lesser-known aspect of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

'What began as a simple way to stay fit quickly evolved into a community activity, bringing together fellow yatris and young martial arts students from the towns where we stayed,' his post reads.

The video, posted on his YouTube channel, highlights Gandhi's passion for the martial arts — of which he practises aikido (black belt) and sword fighting as well as jiu-jitsu (blue belt) — and shows him working with young martial arts students in a dojo.

The eight-minute video he shared today offers glimpses of the sessions with local youth from the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which spanned more than two months, taking Gandhi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh and other party members from Manipur to Mumbai.

In his post, Gandhi added:

Gandhi closed his post expressing the hope of inspiring more Indians to take up the 'Gentle Art' — the literal translation of the Japanese jujitsu.

The video showed Gandhi demonstrate animal walks, meditation, energy flow, (breaking) the cycle of violence and more to young martial arts students alongside his trainer Arun Sharma, also a jiu-jitsu black belt.

The Nyay Yatra followed the success of his earlier Bharat Jodo Yatra, from September 2022 to January 2023, where Gandhi walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to unite people against divisive forces in the country.

The mention of a potential Bharat Dojo Yatra has sparked curiosity and interest among his followers, political observers — and now martial arts afficionados.