Kasi and Rameswaram are inseparable, says Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan

Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for spreading Tamil across the globe, Vice-President of India C.P. Radhakrishnan said on Tuesday (December 30, 2025) that the heritage and cultural values of the nation had been taken to a new high through Viksit Bharat.

The Vice-President was at Rameswaram to take part in the valedictory function of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0. A large number of students from Uttar Pradesh participated in the event.

Appreciating the organisers for the splendid performance over the last four years, he said the country’s heritage values were so strong that the two holy towns — Kashi and Rameswaram — would remain one. “No force can attempt to divide the unity of Bharat,” he stressed.

According to him, the Prime Minister, who was the brain behind the Kashi Tamil Sangamam, was a visionary and showed that the civilisational arc between Kashi and Rameswaram was one. The celebrations over the last four years brought out the essence of unity and reflected the country’s rich values since time immemorial.

The Vice-President said that there were important shrines in both Kasi and Rameswaram. The two holy spots are described as the spiritual capitals. Hailing poet Bharati, Mr. Radhakrishnan said India was and would remain one and whenever there was any crisis, the people would come together and fight it with oneness.

Appreciating Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi for his attempt to speak in Tamil without any assistance, Mr. Radhakrishnan said, amid applause from the gathering, that he would also learn Hindi soon. Quoting the Prime Minister from his recent Mann Ki Bhaat conversation, he said Tamil is rich language and powerful tool for communication.

The Vice-President also hailed the Nagarathars (Naatukottai Chettiars) for their yeomen service in Kashi since time immemorial. When the members of the community alleged that their land in Kashi had been encroached over the years, the Prime Minister asked them to brief Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath, who helped them evict the encroachers within a short span of time.

Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan said that through the Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0, the values of Indian culture had been reconnected. Calling the country a land of knowledge, he said the Prime Minister had rightly conceived the north and the south through this event.

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L. Murugan said the Kashi Tamil Sangamam had given a world of opportunity to bring back the literary importance the nation had from the Ramayana and Mahabharata periods to the Sangam Tamil and its values.

Mr. Ravi said the event had paved the way for popularising Tamil across the nation. Thousands of students were now learning Tamil; year after year, the number was increasing. This was the power of the language, he said.

IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti welcomed the gathering. The IIT Madras and Banaras Hindu University served as the nodal institutions for the event in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh government and many of the Union government Ministries.

BJP leaders H. Raja, Nainar Nagenthran and Vanathi Srinivasan; Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) leader G.K. Vasan; and Rajya Sabha Member Dharmar took part at the function.

Tamil Nadu Minister for Cooperation KR. Periakaruppan and  Ramanathapuram Collector Simranjeet Singh Kahlon welcomed the Vice-President at the helipad.

In view of the visit of the Vice-President, the police intensified surveillance in the coastal district and about 700 police personnel were deployed. Superintendent of Police G. Chandeesh and  Sivaganga SP  Shiva Prasad oversaw the security arrangements.

A short film on Kashi Tamil Sangamam was screened.