Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the relationship between Kashi and Tamil Nadu was not only ancient but emotional and creative as well, and the Kashi Tamil Sangamam is strengthening the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
After inaugurating the second edition of Kashi-Tamil Sangamam at Namo Ghat here in Varanasi, the PM said, “Nation has been a political definition in other countries, but India as a nation is full of spiritual beliefs. India has been united by saints like Adi Shankaracharya and Ramanujacharya, who awakened the national consciousness of India through their travels.”
He said that Adheenam saints had been travelling to Kashi for centuries. “Through these journeys and pilgrimages, India has remained steady and immortal as a nation for thousands of years. Kashi Tamil Sangamam is strengthening the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat,” he said.
On the occasion, the PM released various books on ancient Tamil texts translated into Braille language. He also flagged off the Kashi Tamil Sangam Express train from Kanyakumari to Kashi. The weekly train has been started as a direct rail service between Kanyakumari and Varanasi.
While welcoming the participants from Tamil Nadu, he said that they were not just the guests, but his family members. He said that the voice of Kashi Tamil Sangamam is going all over the world.
The PM said that Kashi Tamil Sangamam has become an effective platform for mutual dialogue and contact between different sections of society. “BHU and IIT Madras have also come together to make this Sangamam successful. IIT Madras has started Vidya Shakti Initiative to provide online support in Maths to thousands of students of Banaras,” he said.
He said that this feeling of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ was visible even when we entered the new building of Parliament. “Holy Sengol has been installed in the new Parliament,” he said.
Modi said despite being one, Indians are full of diversity like dialects, languages, costumes, food habits and lifestyle. “The diversity of India is rooted in that spiritual consciousness, for which it is said in Tamil that every water is Ganga water and every piece of land in India is Kashi,” he said.
He said, “When Kashi, the centre of our faith, was being attacked by invaders from the North, King Parakram Pandeyan built temples in Tenkasi and Shivakasi saying that Kashi cannot be destroyed. You can look at any civilisation in the world. You will hardly find such an easy and noble form of intimacy in diversity anywhere.”
The PM said during the recent G20 Summit, the world was amazed to see this diversity of India.
The Prime Minister said that through Kashi Tamil Sangamam, enthusiasm for their ancient traditions has increased among the youth of the country. “A large number of youth from Tamil Nadu are coming to Kashi. Special arrangements for darshan in Ayodhya have been made by the UP government for the people coming to Kashi Tamil Sangamam,” he said.
Giving the example of Kashi and Madurai, the Prime Minister said that both are great temple cities. “Both are great pilgrimage sites. Madurai on the banks of Vaigai and Kashi on the banks of Gangai. Both Vaigai and Gangai have been written about in Tamil literature,” he said.
He expressed confidence that this confluence of Kashi Tamil Sangam will continue to strengthen the country’s heritage as also the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. UNI
