Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate a month-long event titled ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ on 19th November in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ is being organized in  Varanasi (Kashi) from 17th November to 16th December,2022 with the objective to rediscover, reaffirm and celebrate the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Kashi – two of the country’s most important and ancient seats of learning.  

Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has been actively monitoring the preparations of the program in Varanasi to take stock of the arrangements ahead of Prime Minister’s visit to Kashi. Previously, he also held meetings with Minister of Railways, GOI, Governor of Tamil Nadu, officials of UP Government and other key stakeholders to ensure successful organization of Kashi Tamil Sangamam.

Kashi Tamil Sangamam is being organized by the Ministry of Education, Govt of India in collaboration with other ministries like Culture, Textiles, Railways, Tourism, Food Processing, I&B etc and the Govt of UP.  The programme  aims to provide an opportunity for scholars, students, philosophers, traders, artisans, artists and people from other walks of life from the two regions to come together, share their knowledge, culture and best practices and learn from each others’ experience. The endeavour is in sync with NEP 2020’s emphasis on integrating the wealth of Indian Knowledge Systems with modern systems of knowledge. IIT Madras and BHU are the two implementing agencies for the programme. 

More than 2500 delegates from Tamil Nadu under 12 categories such as students, teachers, literature, culture, artisans, spiritual, heritage, business, entrepreneurs, professionals  etc will be visiting Varanasi on 8-day tours. They will participate in seminars, lec dems, site visits etc in special  programmes curated for each of the 12 catogories to interact with local people of the same trade, profession and interest. The delegates will also visit places of interest in and around Varanasi including Prayagraj and Ayodhya.  Students of BHU and other Higher Educational Institutions will be participating in the academic programmes. They will study the comparative practices pertaining to various  sectors in the two regions and document the learnings. The first group of delegates consisting of  200 students started their tour from Chennai on the 17th of November, their train was flagged off  by  Governor of Tamil Nadu Shri R. N Ravi from the Chennai Railway station.  

Along with this, a month long exhibition of handlooms, handicrafts, ODOP products, books, documentaries, cuisine, art forms, history, tourist places etc of the two regions  will be put up in Varanasi for the benefit of the local people.

During the inaugural programme Prime Minister will interact with the delegates coming from Tamil Nadu. The inauguration ceremony will witness various cultural performances such as vocal rendition by Shri Ilaiyaraaja, and book releases .