Kashi Tamil Sangamam embodies Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat

The Vice-President of India, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, delivered a special video message on the occasion of the fourth edition of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam, celebrating the enduring cultural bond between Kashi and Tamil Nadu.

The Vice-President noted that since the launch of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in 2022 during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the initiative has grown into a major national platform that brings together the culture of the Ganga and the traditions of the Cauvery, symbolising the cultural unity of the North and the South and their shared civilizational heritage.

He recalled the Prime Minister’s recent remarks in the Mann Ki Baat broadcast on November 30, where the Prime Minister described the Sangamam as the meeting of one of the world’s oldest languages with one of the world’s oldest living cities.

The Vice-President expressed satisfaction that Tamil is receiving its rightful place of honour and continued national support. He welcomed this year’s theme, Let us learn Tamil, which reinforces linguistic and cultural harmony.

He appreciated the initiative of fifty Hindi-speaking Tamil teachers and coordinators, trained by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai, who have arrived in Varanasi to teach basic Tamil to more than 1,500 students across fifty government and private schools over a 15-day period.

Highlighting efforts to rediscover ancient cultural routes between Tamil Nadu and Kashi, the Vice-President referred to the symbolic Agathiyar Yatra from Tenkasi to Kashi, which commenced on December 2 and will conclude on December 10. This journey commemorates the message of unity spread by Pandya King Athiveera Parakrama Pandian, whose travels linked Tamil Nadu with Kashi and gave Tenkasi—a town in Tamil Nadu whose name means Southern Kashi—its identity.

He also welcomed the initiative under which 300 students from Uttar Pradesh will travel in ten groups to leading institutions in Tamil Nadu, including the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, strengthening two-way cultural understanding and exchange.

Describing the Sangamam as an embodiment of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat, the Vice-President observed that Kashi and Tamil Nadu stand as radiant lamps of Bharat’s ancient civilization, illuminating the nation with their cultural richness.

The Vice-President conveyed his appreciation to the Ministry of Education, the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and other Central Ministries for organising this cultural unity programme in such a grand manner.

The Vice-President extended his best wishes for the Kashi Tamil Sangamam to be a grand cultural, spiritual, and intellectual celebration. He concluded with the hope that the Sangamam will continue to shine, that the bond between Kashi and Tamil Nadu will grow stronger for thousands of years, and that this spirit of unity will guide the nation towards the Bharat envisioned by the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister.