In line with his vision of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate Kashi Tamil Sangamam 2023 at Namo Ghat on 17 December 2023. On the occasion, Prime Minister will also flag off the Kanyakumari – Varanasi Tamil Sangamam train. Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Smt. Anandiben Patel; Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan; Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath; and other dignitaries will also be present for the event.

The second phase of Kashi Tamil Sangamam will commence from 17th to 30th December, 2023 at the holy city of Kashi (Varanasi). The first batch of the Tamil delegation has left from Chennai on 15th December 2023. Nearly 1400 (7 Groups of 200 persons each) people are expected to be travelling from different parts of Tamil Nadu, representing varied walks of life. During their stay in Kashi, as per their tour itinerary, they will also visit Prayagraj and Ayodhya.

The 7 groups of Students (Ganga), Teachers (Yamuna), Professionals (Godavari), Spiritual (Saraswati), Farmers and Artisans (Narmada), Writers (Sindhu) and Traders and Businessmen (Kaveri) have been named after seven sacred rivers of India will travel from Chennai, Coimbatore and Kanyakumari to Kashi. More than 42,000 registrations were received during the time of registration that ended on 8th December, 2023. Out of them, 200 people for each group were selected by the selection committee.

The Ministry of Education, Government of India, will be the nodal agency for this event with participation from the Ministries of Culture, Tourism, Railways, Textiles, Food Processing (ODOP), MSME, Information & Broadcasting, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, IRCTC and related departments of Government of Uttar Pradesh. Leveraging the experience of the first phase and considering its reputation for research, IIT Madras will be acting as the implementing agency in Tamil Nadu and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Uttar Pradesh.

The representative itinerary will include a 2-day outbound trip, a 2-day return trip to Banaras and a 1-day trip, each to Prayagraj and Ayodhya. Stalls showcasing art and culture, handlooms, handicrafts, cuisine and other special products of Tamil Nadu and Kashi will be set up. Cultural programmes combining the cultures of Tamil Nadu and Kashi will also be organized at the Namo Ghat in Kashi. During the entire period of the event, seminars, discussions, lectures, etc. will be organized on various aspects of knowledge like literature, ancient texts, philosophy, spirituality, music, dance, drama, yoga, ayurveda, handloom, handicrafts along with modern innovations, business exchanges, EdTech and other next-generation technologies. Apart from this, experts and scholars, local practitioners of various disciplines/professions from Tamil Nadu and Kashi will also participate in these exchanges so that a body of practical knowledge/innovation can emerge from mutual learning in different areas.

The first phase of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam was organized from 16th November to 16th December 2022, with the Ministry of Education working as the nodal agency. More than 2500 people from Tamil Nadu representing 12 different walks of life travelled to Kashi, Prayagraj and Ayodhya on an 8-day tour during which they had the opportunity to get an immersive experience of different aspects of life in and around Varanasi.

***

SS/AK