The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the International Gita Mahotsava-2017 today in Kurukshetra, Haryana. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the message of the Gita is relevant for all times to come. From an ancient society based on agriculture to a society based on commerce and industry, and now to a knowledge society – the message of the Gita has been everlasting. The Gita guides us in resolving the dilemmas and struggles between right and wrong that exist within every human being. “What is right and what is wrong?”, “What should we do and not do?” Answers to these questions emerge from the Gita.The President also noted the efforts made by the people of Haryana to improve the child sex ratio in the state. He commended the Government of Haryana’s efforts in this regard. He pointed out that daughters of Haryana had excelled in a variety of fields, from politics to education, mountaineering to wrestling, and space travel to, to cite a recent example, beauty pageants. He stressed the need to encourage this process of women’s empowerment in the state. Earlier in the day, the President visited Brahma Sarovar and laid the foundation stone of the Gita Research Centre at the Gita Gyan Sansthanam in Kurukshetra.