Kashi Tamil Sangamam aims 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.

Kashi Tamil Sangamam 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Kashi Tamil Sangamam 2023 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, and flagged off the Kanyakumari-Varanasi Tamil Sangamam train. He launched multi-language and braille translations of Thirukkural, Manimekalai, and other classic Tamil literature, and took a walkthrough of the exhibition.

Kashi Tamil Sangamam aims 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.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister welcomed everyone not as guests but as his “family members”. He underlined that arriving in Kashi from Tamil Nadu simply means traveling from one abode of Lord Mahadev to the other namely Madurai Meenakshi to Kashi Vishalakshi. The Prime Minister emphasized that the participants will return to Tamil Nadu with Kashi’s culture, delicacies, and memories. Prime Minister Modi also highlighted the use of Artificial Intelligence in the real-time translation of his speech in Tamil for the first time and reiterated its usage in future events.

PM Modi noted that lakhs of people including heads of mutts, students, artists, authors, craftsmen, and professionals have become part of Kashi Tamil Sangamam since its inception last year and it has become an effective platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas. He expressed satisfaction with the joint initiative by Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and IIT Chennai where IIT, Chennai is providing online support to thousands of students from Varanasi in Science and Mathematics under the Vidya Shakti Initiative. These recent developments, the Prime Minister said, are proof of the emotional and creative bond between the people of Kashi and Tamil Nadu.

The Prime Minister said that Kashi Tamil Sangamam furthers the spirit of “Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat.” The spirit of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat got further strength from the new tradition of celebration of other statehood days in all the Raj Bhavans of the country. PM Modi also recalled the establishment of the sacred Sengol in the new Parliament under the supervision of the Aadinam saints reflecting the same spirit of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat. “This flow of spirit of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat is infusing the soul of our nation today,” he said. He also recalled the fascination of the dignitaries taking part in the G20 Summit towards India’s diversity.

Prime Minister Modi expressed satisfaction with the peaking interests of the country’s youth towards ancient traditions as he observed that a large number of people, students, and youth from Tamil Nadu are traveling to Kashi, Prayag, Ayodhya, and other pilgrimage sites. “Darshan of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, who established Rameshwaram along with Lord Mahadev, is divine,” said the Prime Minister.

The second phase of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam will continue till 30 December 2023.