After inaugurating Kashi Tamil Sangamam 2.0, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Sunday that “Kashi Tamil Sangamam furthers the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat.”
“Coming to Kashi from Tamil Nadu means coming from one house of Mahadev to another as coming to Kashi from Tamil Nadu means coming from Madurai Meenakshi to Kashi Visalakshi.

Therefore, the love and relationship that exists between the people of Tamil Nadu and the people of Kashi is both different and unique. I am sure the people of Kashi will be leaving no stone unturned in serving you all. When you leave from here, along with the blessings of Baba Kashi Vishwanath, you will also take with you the taste of Kashi, the culture of Kashi and the memories of Kashi,” PM said.

Quoting Subramania Bharathi, the prime minister said vibrations of Kashi-Tamil Sangamam are spreading throughout the country and the world. The spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat got further strength from the new tradition of celebration of other statehood days in all the Raj Bhavans of the country.

Modi also recalled the establishment of the sacred Sengol in the new Parliament building under the supervision of the Aadinam saints reflecting the same spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat. “This flow of spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ is infusing the soul of our nation today”, he added.

For the first time Artificial Intelligence (AI) was used in the PM’s speech at Kashi Tamil Sangam. PM Modi’s Hindi speech was translated live into Tamil and the people of Tamil Nadu present at Namo Ghat listened to it on headphones.

On the occasion, the PM also flagged off Banaras-Kanyakumari, Kashi-Sangamam weekly express train. He also launched multi language and braille translations of Thirukkural, Manimekalai and other classic Tamil literature PM said, “Since the beginning of Kashi-Tamil Sangamam last year, lakhs of people have joined this Yatra every day. Religious leaders from various ashrams, maath, students, many artists and people from many areas are coming to this Yatra. Sangamam has provided an effective platform for mutual communication and contact. I am happy that Banaras Hindu University and IIT Madras have also come together to make this Sangamam a success.”

He also took a walkthrough of the exhibition and witnessed a cultural program. Kashi Tamil Sangamam aims to celebrate, reaffirm and rediscover the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Kashi – two of the country’s most important and ancient seats of learning.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Today the second edition of Kashi-Tamil Sangam is starting in the city of Kashi at this sacred Namo Ghat and Varanasi is older than history. This is a civilization that is rich and unique”.

Speaking on the occasion, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Yogi said, “This event of Kashi-Tamil Sangamam is the result of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Due to this, a wonderful confluence of South India with North India is taking place. We all are grateful to the big campaign that Prime Minister Modi has taken forward by awakening the consciousness of “Ek Bharat, Shreshth”, the concept of this event.