Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a great effort for the renaissance of India's cultural unity by organizing the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the mega conclave at the Amphitheater Ground of Banaras Hindu University, Shah said India is a geo-cultural country and the basis of its unity is the culture, and Modi has tried to connect different cultures after long through Kashi Sangamam.
"By organizing the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a great effort for the renaissance of India's cultural unity in the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav," he said.
The Home Minister said Kashi-Tamil Sangamam has ended the distance by creating a bridge between the two pinnacles of India's culture.
He said the cultural unity of the country can lead towards 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat', referring to a programme that pairs states to promote cultural connections.
Shah said that "even after independence, a time came when efforts were made to poison the cultural unity of the country".
He alleged that efforts were made to divide the country, but now the "time has come to create Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat" and that can only be done through the cultural unity of India."
Attacking the non-BJP governments after independence without taking names, Shah said, "For a long time, there were no attempts to connect the cultures of our country. Modi ji has tried to connect cultures through Kashi-Tamil Sangamam."
He said "I am sure that this effort will not only help Kashi and Tamil, but the languages and cultures of the whole country in the coming days and will be a successful attempt to connect."
The Home Minister said that "this effort should have happened immediately after independence".
"After a long period of slavery that somewhat tarnished our cultural unity, the diversity of our heritage and the unity of the Indian soul that lies within our different cultures, a renaissance was needed to overcome this. The effort should have been made immediately after independence, but this did not happen," the senior BJP leader said.
Giving credit for the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam to Prime Minister Modi, Shah said, "I am happy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has revived Indian cultural unity in the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. I want to thank Modi ji for this."
He said, "This is going to be the culmination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Kashi-Tamil Sangamam in a way, but I want to say that this is not the culmination, but it is the beginning".
Tamil Nadu's culture, philosophy, language, art, knowledge and the cultural heritage of the city of Kashi, which is recognized in the whole world, is the beginning of the meeting of the two pinnacles of the Indian culture, and from here this path is going to go ahead."
Shah said India is a country made up of many cultures, languages, dialects and arts. "But if you look closely, its soul is one and that is the soul of India. The basis of unity of our country is our cultures."
Citing history, the Home Minister said that Adi Shankaracharya, who came from the South, found acceptance among the scholars.
Shah described Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world, and said, "I would like to thank the people of Kashi who have warmly welcomed all the brothers and sisters who have come from Tamil Nadu. The people of Tamil Nadu can never forget Kashi."
Addressing the closing ceremony, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "Uttar Pradesh represents the spiritual cultural heritage of India, while Tamil Nadu also leads the ancient traditions of art, culture, knowledge."
He said Kashi-Tamil Sangamam fulfils the Prime Minister's vision of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
He said Mahakavi Subramaniam Bharti came from Tamil Nadu and gave a rich tradition of knowledge and literature to the land of Kashi.
"The UP government will make all efforts in beautifying his holy monument in collaboration with the Government of India," Adityanath said.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also addressed the function.
Aimed at realizing the concept of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, the 'Kashi-Tamil Sangamam' was held for about a month in Varanasi. The programme was organized by the Union Ministry of Education and was started by Prime Minister Modi on November 19.
The speakers at the mega conclave laid special emphasis on re-discovering and celebrating the age-old link between Tamil Nadu and Kashi -- two of the most important and ancient knowledge centres of the country -- as well as reviving the cultural and traditional ties between the two centres.
