Varanasi: Guided by the vision of the Prime Minister, the promotion of the idea of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ has been one of the major focus areas of the government. In yet another initiative reflecting this vision, ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’, a month-long programme, is being organised in Kashi (Varanasi) and will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on November 19.
The objective of the programme is to celebrate, reaffirm and rediscover the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Kashi – two of the country’s most important and ancient seats of learning. The programme aims to provide an opportunity for people from all walks of life including scholars, students, philosophers, traders, artisans, artists etc. from the two regions to come together, share their knowledge, culture and best practices and learn from each others’ experiences. More than 2500 delegates from Tamil Nadu will be visiting Kashi.
They will participate in seminars, site visits etc to interact with local people of similar trade, profession and interest. A month-long exhibition of handlooms, handicrafts, ODOP products, books, documentaries, cuisine, art forms, history, tourist places etc of the two regions will also be put up in Kashi, the PMO said.
The endeavour is in sync with NEP 2020’s emphasis on integrating the wealth of Indian Knowledge Systems with modern systems of knowledge. IIT Madras and BHU are the two implementing agencies for the programme
Meanwhile, Indian Railways took the first contingent of 216 delegates for the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam from Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram on Wednesday. The Railways is running a total of 13 special services from Tamil Nadu to Uttar Pradesh’s Kashi.” About 35 delegates from Rameswaram, 103 from Tiruchchirappalli and 78 from Chennai Egmore will board the train to participate in the first train leaving from Tamil Nadu,” the Ministry of Railways said in a statement.
The Ministry said that these train services will carry 2592 delegates from Tamil Nadu who will commence their journey from Rameswaram, Coimbatore and Chennai. These trains will stop at 21 stations enroute. Each rail will carry 216 passengers. Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi will interact with the delegates of the second round of rail service and flag off the train at Chennai Egmore tomorrow.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan will also be present.”Kashi Tamil Sangamam 2022 is an initiative of the Government of India as part of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”. It will be a celebration of the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and will also celebrate the beautiful Tamil language as well as Culture,” the Ministry said. The month-long ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ programme will be organized in Varanasi from November 17 to December 16 to rediscover the centuries-old bond of knowledge and ancient civilizational linkage between Kashi and Tamil Nadu.
As part of the program of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU), academic exchanges – seminars, discussions etc. will be held between experts/ scholars on various facets of the two ancient manifestations of Indian Culture, with a focus on bringing out the links and shared values between the two. It added that the broader objective is to bring the two knowledge and cultural traditions closer, create an understanding of our shared heritage and deepen the people-to-people bond between the regions. (ANI)
