The ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ will be organised from November 16 to December 19 in Varanasi to discover the link between Kashi and Tamil Nadu, the two ancient centres of knowledge, culture and heritage.

The Sangamam to be organised under the overall framework and spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ will create a bridge between ancient India and the contemporary generation. 

Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat

• The ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ programme, aims to actively enhance interaction between people of diverse cultures living in different states and UTs in India, with the objective of promoting greater mutual understanding amongst them.

• It aims to foster national integration by a coordinated mutual engagement process between states, Union Territories, central ministries, educational institutions and the general public through linguistic, literary, cultural, sports, tourism and other forms of people to people exchanges.

• The programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2015.

• The ministry of education coordinates its implementation.

• As per the programme, each year, every state/UT would be paired with another state/UT for reciprocal interaction between the people. 

• It is envisaged through this exchange, that the knowledge of the language, culture, traditions and practices of different states will lead to an enhanced understanding and bonding between one another, thereby strengthening the unity and integrity of India. 

• The states and UTs are to embark on a mission to enhance their cultural, academic and economic ties by entering into a wide range of mutual engagements with the paired states/UTs covering the spheres of music, drama, cuisine, language, history, tourism and other forms of exchange between the people.

Kashi Tamil Sangamam

• The Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS) has come up with a proposal to rediscover, reaffirm and celebrate the links between the Tamil culture and Kashi that has existed for centuries.

• During the event, academic exchanges such as seminars and discussions will be held between experts and 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.

• The broader objective of the month-long event is to bring the two knowledge and cultural traditions closer, create an understanding of the shared heritage and deepen the people-to-people bond between the regions.

• The Kashi Tamil Sangamam shall be an ideal platform to understand the unity in India’s civilisational assets through two historic centres of knowledge and culture. 

• The Sangamam will be centred around a series of themes that cover various facets of knowledge — literature, ancient texts, philosophy, spirituality, music, dance, drama, yoga, ayurveda, handlooms, handicrafts as well as modern innovations, trade exchanges, edutech and other gen-next technology, etc.

• Seminars, discussions, lectures, etc will be held on these themes, for which subject experts will be invited. This shall be a unique learning experience for students, scholars, academics, practising professionals on various facets of Indian knowledge systems, education and training practices, arts and culture, language and literature.

• To ensure that the benefit of these discussions reaches the actual practitioners of these knowledge streams, it is proposed that in addition to experts, common practitioners from different parts of Tamil Nadu be brought for an eight-day visit to Varanasi and its neighbouring areas.

• Twelve such groups have been identified. These people will participate in academic programmes, interact with the people of Varanasi associated with the same field, and visit places of interest in and around Varanasi.

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