Highlighting the cultural and linguistic ties between the North and South, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the Kashi Tamil Sangamam will boost their partnership, opening new doors to the country’s bright future.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the fourth edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi on Tuesday, Adityanath said, “This event will help strengthen the cultural, linguistic, economic, and spiritual partnership between North and South India, opening new doors to India’s bright future. This year’s theme, “Learn Tamil” will further fortify the idea of “Ek Bharat–Shreshtha Bharat” through knowledge, culture, and language.”
“The Uttar Pradesh government has integrated Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali languages into its vocational education system. Students may choose any of these languages and the state government will bear the entire cost. Tamil is providing a new platform in this initiative,” he said.
Speaking about the cultural proximity between Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Adityanath said the ancient bond between Kashi and Tamil culture is rooted in the worship of Lord Shiva. Adi Shankaracharya carried this bond forward by setting up sacred Peethas across India.
“The visit of devotees to Uttar Pradesh will offer a unique spiritual fortune of experiencing the devotion to Lord Shiva in Kashi, the confluence at Prayagraj, and the divine darshan of Lord Shri Ram in Ayodhya after the raising of the Dharmadhvaja,” Adityanath said.
“A large number of devotees from Uttar Pradesh visit the holy sites of Rameshwaram, Madurai, and Kanyakumari every year. The state tourism department will organise special travel programmes through which they will be taken to these destinations at concessional rates,” he added.
“The Shaivite and Vaishnavite bhakti traditions reflect the spiritual richness of Tamil civilization. For the last two centuries, the Chettiar community has been providing puja materials to Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The tradition of performing “abhishekam” of Lord Ramanathaswamy with water from the Triveni Sangam and of Lord Vishwanath with water from Koditirtham is now being carried out every month,” the chief minister said.
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Adityanath highlighted the car rally that kicked off from Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu this year as one of the key attractions of the event. He said that the 2,000-kilometre journey commemorated the deep connections with the sacred land of Kashi.
He also appreciated the joint academic programmes of IIT Madras and BHU as steps that strengthen national unity.
Adityanath inaugurated the event in the presence of Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and L Murugan, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry K Kailasanathan and UP Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.
Vice President CP Radhakrishnan also addressed the event virtually.
