Throwing light on the tradition of remembering 12 Jyotirlingas after waking up in the morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, said we start our day by remembering the spiritual unity of the country but there had been lack of efforts to strengthen this tradition and heritage of thousands of years.

“The Kashi-Tamil Sangamam will become a platform for this resolution today while making us realise our duties and becoming a source of energy to strengthen national unity. India is a nation which has lived a natural cultural unity for thousands of years,” he said. While kicking off the month-long Kashi-Tamil Sangamam in Amphitheatre Ground of Banaras Hindu University here, Modi said every confluence of culture and traditions is celebrated and revered in India and added that in reality, it is a celebration of India’s might and characteristics, thus making the Kashi-Tamil Sangam unique.

Speaking about the connection between Kashi and Tamil Nadu, the Prime Minister said on one hand, Kashi was the cultural capital of India whereas Tamil Nadu and Tamil culture was the centre of India’s antiquity and pride. He said the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam was equally holy as it engulfed endless opportunities and strength in itself.

Clad in traditional white kurta and dhoti of Tamil Nadu, the Prime Minister said that Kashi and Tamil Nadu were timeless centres of Indian culture and civilisation and both Sanskrit and Tamil were one of the most ancient languages that existed.

In Kashi, we have Baba Vishwanath, while in Tamil Nadu we have the blessings of Lord Rameshwaram and both Kashi and Tamil Nadu are immersed in Shiva,” he said, adding that be it music, literature or art, Kashi and Tamil Nadu had always been a source of art.

“Kashi and Tamil Nadu are marked as the birthplaces and workplaces of India’s finest acharyas and one can experience similar energies in these both places,” he said, adding that even today, the relevance of Kashi Yatra comes up during the traditional Tamil marriage procession.

Modi underlined that unending love for Kashi from Tamil Nadu signifies the feeling of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat which was the way of life of our ancestors.

The Prime Minister remembered Tamil Nadu’s scholars Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Rajeshwar Shastri, Pattaviram Shastri who lived in Kashi and said that there was also Kashi Kaam Koteshwar Panchayatan Mandir which was a Tamilian temple on the banks of Harishchandra Ghat besides the 200-year-old Kumarswamy Matt and Markandeya Ashram on Kedar Ghat.

“Many people from Tamil Nadu have been living near the banks of Kedar Ghat and Hanuman Ghat, and have made immense contributions towards Kashi for several generations,” Modi said while linking the cultural and spiritual relation between Kashi and Tamil Nadu.

He added that the great poet and revolutionary Subramania Bharathi hailed from Tamil Nadu but lived in Kashi for many years and the BHU has established a chair dedicated to Subramania Bharathi.

He said that the Kashi-Tamil Sangam was taking place during the Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal and hoped that in this Amrit Kaal, all resolutions would be fulfilled by the unity of the whole country.

“It was with this attitude of breaking language barrier and surpassing the intellectual distance that Swami Kumargurupar came to Kashi and made it his karmabhoomi and got Kedareshwar Mandir constructed in Kashi. Later, his disciples got Kashi Vishwanath temple constructed in Thanjavur on the banks of river Kaveri,” the Prime Minister said and added that personalities like Manonmaniam Sundaranar, who wrote a Tamil State song, had connection of his guru with Kashi.

The Prime Minister also remembered the role of Ramayana and Mahabharata written by Raja Ji in connecting the North and the South. “This is my experience that without understanding scholars from South India like Ramanujacharya, Shankaracharya, Raja Ji to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, we simply cannot understand Indian philosophy,” Modi said.

Referring to the ‘Panch Pran’, the Prime Minister said that a country with a rich heritage should be proud of its legacy and added that despite having one of the world’s oldest living languages, i.e. Tamil, we lacked in honoring it fully.

“It is the responsibility of 130 crore Indians to preserve the legacy of Tamil and enrich it. If we ignore Tamil we do a great disservice to the nation and if we keep Tamil confined in restrictions we will do great harm to it. We have to remember to remove linguistic differences and establish emotional unity,” he added.

The Prime Minister said that such events should be organised in Tamil Nadu and other southern States and youngsters from other parts of the county should visit and absorb the culture there. He said the gains of this Sangamam needed to be taken forward through research and this seed should become a giant tree.

Earlier, the Prime Minister released a book ‘Tirukkural’ along with its translation in 13 languages and witnessed a cultural programme followed by aarti. He also inaugurated an exhibition based on the freedom fighters.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister of State for Education L Murugun welcomed the Prime Minister.

Later, Modi interacted with a team of students who came to the city from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to attend the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam, the objective of which is 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.

The programme aims to provide an opportunity to people from all walks of life, including scholars, students, philosophers, traders, artisans, artists etc. from the two regions, to come together, share their knowledge, culture and best practices and learn from each others’ experiences.

More than 2,500 delegates from Tamil Nadu will be visiting Kashi. They will participate in seminars, have site visits and interact with local people of similar trade, profession and interest. A month-long exhibition of handlooms, handicrafts, ODOP products, books, documentaries, cuisine, art forms, history, tourist places etc of the two regions will also be put up in Kashi.