Important Facts For Prelims
Kashi Tamil Sangamam
- 21 Nov 2022
- 3 min read
Why in News?
Prime Minister of India inaugurated the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
- This programme is an initiative by Government of India as a part of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” and to uphold the Spirit of Ek Bharat Sreshtha Bharat .
What is Kashi Tamil Sangamam?
- About:
- Kashi Tamil Sangamam celebrates many aspects of the historical and civilisational connection between India’s North and South.
- The broader objective is to bring the two knowledge and cultural traditions (of the North and South) closer, create an understanding of our shared heritage and deepen the people-to-people bond between the regions.
- It is being organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with other ministries like Culture, Textiles, Railways, Tourism, Food Processing, Information & Broadcasting etc. and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
- The endeavour is in sync with National Education Policy (NEP), 2020’s emphasis on integrating the wealth of Indian Knowledge Systems with modern systems of knowledge.
- IIT Madras and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) are the two implementing agencies for the programme.
- Cultural Significance:
- King Parakrama Pandya, who ruled over the region around Madurai in the 15th century, wanted to build a temple to Lord Shiva, and he travelled to Kashi (Uttar Pradesh) to bring back a lingam.
- While returning, he stopped to rest under a tree — but when he tried to continue his journey, the cow carrying the lingam refused to move.
- Parakrama Pandya understood this to be the Lord’s wish, and installed the lingam there, a place that came to be known as Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.
- For devotees who could not visit Kashi, the Pandyas had built the Kasi Viswanathar Temple in what is today Tenkasi in southwestern Tamil Nadu, close to the state’s border with Kerala.
