International Gita Mahotsav 2018 will be organised from December 7-23 in Haryana’s Kurukshetra city.

Announcing this, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Friday said for the first time, Gita Mahotsav will also be organized in Mauritius in the month of February 2019. Besides, Mauritius will be the partner country in the celebrations of upcoming International Gita Mahotsav 2018 at Kurukshetra, he said.

The State Government’s efforts to promote the teaching of sacred ‘Srimad Bhagavad Gita’ at the global level has started yielding fruitful results with countries showing interest to partner with Haryana for celebrations of Gita Mahotsav, Manohar Lal said while talking to the mediapersons at New Delhi.

While national BJP President Amit Shah would be the chief guest on inaugural programme on December 13, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and former President Pranab Mukherjee would remain present on December 18.

He said that the present State Government has been organising the Gita Mahotsav at international level since 2016.

This, year, the International Gita Mahotsav -2018 to be organised from December 7 to 23, would have Mauritius as partner country and Gujarat as partner state.

The International Gita Mahotsav, an annual event, is organized every year in collaboration with Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) at Kurukshetra.

On this occasion, he also greeted the people on the auspicious occasion of Kartik Purnima and 550th Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev.

He said the KDB who has been organizing programmes and events for the promotion of Gita has also completed its 50 years on November 23.

The programme of Gita Jayanti started in the year 1989. Gradually, the Gita jayanti Mohtsav was started organizing at national level. However, the present State Government has been organizing Gita Mahotsav of international level since 2016, he added.

The Chief Minister said that the main event would be organized from December 13 to December 18. Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain, Tripura Governor Prof Kaptan Singh Solnaki, Odisha Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal and other prominent personalities would also grace the event with their presence.

He said that besides the Art and Culture Minister of Mauritius, the event would be attended by diplomats of 15 different countries.

While underlining the significance of Gita in the mental and spiritual development of human being, he said that the Lord Krishna had delivered the celestial message of Gita on the holy land of Kurukshetra 5156 years ago.

The episode was unique in itself as the battlefield saw simultaneous use of weapons and scripture. Various prominent personalities including the astronaut Sunita Williams has acknowledged the significance of this holy book, Manohar Lal said.

The Chief Minister further said that the International Gita Mahotsav which would saw the participation from prominent saints like Shri Shri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, and Shankracharya and various social and religious organizations would also be organized at district and block level.

For the first time, it has been decided to organize “Gita Sansad” in more than 30 colleges of the state in which discussion would be held on the sacred scripture so as to effectively disseminate the message of Gita among the students. Apart from this, to spread the message of global peace and harmony, Ashtadashi Shaloki Gita would be recited by 18,000 students simultaneously in Kurukshetra at 12 noon on December 18, he added.

International Crafts and Saras Mela would be inaugurated on December 7 in which artist and artisans of national and international repute would add colour to the event. Similarly, Sant Sammelan would be organized on December 16 in which renowned saints from country and abroad would participate.

Also, Gita quiz competition, essay writing and declamation contest would be organized. Online competitions would also be organized in which Gita followers of the country and abroad could participate. Paint the wall competition would also be organized in which about 200 prominent painters would paint the walls of Kurukshetra on the subject of Mahabharta.

Haryana Pavilion would be set up showcasing the culture of Haryana. Apart from this, evening aarti and light and sound show at Brahamsarovar, cultural programmes by national and international artists on Kurukshetra, Gita, Krishna and Mahabharta and Gita Book Fair are the other event that would attract the people visiting the Mahotsav.

Member of KDB Shyam Kishore informed that this year, Kumbh Mela would also be organized in Kurukhshetra for the first time from December 3 to December 7.