Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah attended the closing ceremony of the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam programme as the Chief Guest in Varanasi today. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath, Governor of Tamil Nadu Shri RN Ravi, Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Culture Minister Shri G. Kishan Reddy and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Shri L. Murugan and many other dignitaries  were present on this occasion.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that today, in a way, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Kashi-Tamil Sangamam is witnessing the conclusion, but it is not the conclusion, but it is the beginning of meeting of cultures the two peaks of Indian culture that is  culture, philosophy, language and knowledge of  Tamil Nadu  and Kashi city  which is  well recognized all over the world. He said that these efforts should have been made immediately after Independence because a long period of slavery had tarnished our cultural unity, diversity of heritage and essence  of Indianness across the cultures, which required rejuvenation. Shri Shah said that Prime Minister  Narendra Modi has tried for the rejuvenation of Indian cultural unity in the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The Union Home Minister said that India is a country with many cultures, languages, dialects and arts, but its soul is one. He said that all the countries in the world have been formed on basis of geopolitical reasons, but India is the only Nation formed on the basis of geo-culture, heritage and culture. Shri Shah said that the various cultures are the foundation of our country's unity and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to connect the cultures of our country through the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam, which will continue forever.

Shri Amit Shah said that after Independence, a time came when India's cultural unity was being poisoned, and efforts were made to divide the two societies of the same country through many differing ideas. Shri Shah said that it is now time to ensure the creation‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ and for this the cultural unity of India is essential. He said that this program has helped create a bridge between the two peaks of India's culture, to ensure that the distances are erased, and paving a way for the cultural renaissance of India. Shri Shah said that through this program many arts forms of Tamil Nadu have got a platform in Kashi. He said that Kashi–Tamil Sangamam, has become a wonderful platform for exchange of spiritual, cultural, architecture, literature, trade, education, art, dance, music and languages. The Union Home Minister said that through Kashi-Tamil Sangamam, the entire North India and all Indians have come to know that Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world. He said that the program has been a great initiative to combine many aspects of both the cultures and the effort has given a message to Tamil Nadu. He told the people of Tamil Nadu that the whole of India is ready to welcome you wholeheartedly.

Shri Shah said that this great country from Northeast to Gujarat, Bengal and Kerala is heartily ready to welcome Tamil brothers and sisters. He said that there is a similarity between faith and love, and no force can create it. Shri Shah said that today the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam has ensured the creation a new atmosphere of trust and love between the two cultures and this is the biggest achievement of the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made extensive arrangements in the New Education Policy to present the country's spiritual pride and knowledge tradition in front of the world through its language and culture with the help of the students of India. He said that our own languages and the pride in them are the soul of the New Education Policy, and that is why Prime Minister Modi has urged in the New Education Policy that the Mother tongue should be the medium of education. The Union Home Minister urged the Tamil Nadu Government to ensure that medical, technical and law education in the State is conducted in Tamil language, so that Tamil language becomes even more strong.

****

NW/AY/SM/RR/AS