Political interests are creating linguistic divisions, says Education Minister

Criticising attempts to create divisions along linguistic lines due to narrow political interests, Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday (December 2, 2025) called upon Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to visit Varanasi to witness and experience the cultural and historic links between Varanasi and Tamil Nadu.

“I have been inviting Mr. Stalin to attend the Kashi Tamil Sangamam every year; I invite him again to see how the civilisational ties between Tamil Nadu and Kashi are being celebrated,” Mr. Pradhan said. He was speaking at the inauguration of the fourth edition of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, on Tuesday (December 2, 2025).

Centuries ago, people from Varanasi visited Tamil Nadu, and Tamil people visited Varanasi. There was no language barrier, the Minister said. “Only vested interests create barriers. You can create artificial barriers and succeed in politics but not create a division among people in the name of language,” he said.

The Kashi Tamil Sangamam, as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had created a “bridge of knowledge” and become a public movement, with expectations rising for the programme every year, Mr. Pradhan said.

“We firmly believe that multilingualism is our strength and not a liability. Language is a primary tool for overcoming the colonial mindset. Kashi Tamil Sangamam is a valuable experiment in experiential learning,” he said.

Several Tamil cultural practices were still alive and practised in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said. The U.P. Government was teaching various Indian languages to youth as part of vocational education, he said. It would continue to facilitate visits between the people of the two States, he added.

With Varanasi ready to host several events lined up over the next few days, Mr. Adityanath and Mr. Pradhan inaugurated the fourth edition of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam. Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, Puducherry Lt. Governor K. Kailashnathan, and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan were present.

“It is apparent that the impact of the event is growing with each passing year,” Vice-President of India C.P. Radhakrishnan said in a virtual address.

Organised with the theme, ‘Tamil karkalam’ (let’s learn Tamil), the event seeks to promote Tamil learning and an appreciation of Tamil’s linguistic and literary heritage. About 1,500 students of schools in Varanasi are to be taught Tamil via a short-term module developed by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Chennai, by 50 tutors from Tamil Nadu who know Hindi. About 300 college students from Varanasi will travel to various institutions in Tamil Nadu for a 15-day Tamil learning program.

A car rally, the ‘Sage Agastya Vehicle Expedition’, started on Tuesday (December 2, 2025) from Tenkasi to Varanasi, tracing the cultural and historic ties between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi during the Chera, Chola, Pandya, Pallava, Chalukya, and Vijayanagara periods, promoting awareness on classical Tamil literature, Siddha medicine, and shared heritage. It will reach Varanasi on December 10.

The fourth edition of the Kasi Tamil Sangamam will culminate in Rameswaram by the end of December, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to attend the finale.