‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ is an attempt to bring a cultural renaissance that will unite the country and connect different languages, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday.
He was addressing the closing ceremony of the 30-day event, during which nearly 2,500 visitors from Tamil Nadu arrived in Varanasi. The Home Minister shared the dais with Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and BJP’s Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai.
“Kashi Tamil Sangamam is an attempt to revive the country’s cultural unity. Though India has multiple cultures, languages and art forms, its soul is one,” Mr. Shah said. He called the event a bridge and an attempt to join languages of not just Kashi (or Varanasi) and Tamil Nadu or south and north, but of the entire country.
He likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi with sage Adi Shankaracharya for trying to bring together two great cultures of Kashi and Tamil Nadu.
National Education Policy
Mr. Shah also spoke about the National Education Policy 2020 and said the Prime Minister had ensured that through the medium of education and languages, the country’s spiritual pride and the Indian knowledge system found a place on the global stage.
“The soul of the National Education Policy is our languages. That is why Modi ji has said mother tongue should be the medium of instruction. Gradually, the NEP has percolated deep down. I appeal once again to Tamil Nadu to impart medical, technical and legal education in Tamil, so that it is further strengthened,” said Mr. Shah.
Repeating the words of Mr. Modi who launched the programme on November 19, the Home Minister said Tamil was one of the oldest languages in the world. He said the entire country was ready to welcome visitors from Tamil Nadu with both hands.
“Come, the entire country is ready to welcome you with all its heart. Visit the entire country, understand it and join yourself with it,” he appealed.
