• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated Kashi-Tamil Sangamam-3.0 in Varanasi on February 15. 

• To keep alive the ancient art and cultural connection between Kashi and major cities of Tamil Nadu, the central government has been organising the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam programme in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi for the last two years. 

• This year it is being organised from February 15 to 24.

Kashi-Tamil Sangamam

• Kashi-Tamil Sangamam is a cultural festival, which aims to bring together the diverse traditional and cultural practices of north India and south India. A large number of people from different regions of Tamil Nadu participate in it. 

• The programme is being organised by the Union Ministry of Education under the ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative.

• It aims to celebrate and strengthen the ancient civilisational bond between Tamil Nadu and Kashi. 

• It seeks to provide an opportunity for scholars, students, philosophers, traders, artisans, artists and people from other walks of life from the two regions to come together, share their knowledge, culture and best practices and learn from each other’s experience. It also aims to make the youth aware and experience cultural oneness. 

• The main theme in this year’s event is highlighting the significant contributions of Sage Agasthyar to the Siddha System of Medicine (Bharatiya Chikitsa), classical Tamil literature, and also his contributions in the cultural unity of the Nation. Additionally, he is known for his unparalleled contributions to various fields and is revered as the first grammarian of the Tamil language in south India.

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.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)