Even as political tensions continue between the Centre and Tamil Nadu's DMK-led government over education policies, the fourth edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam (KTS) is set to launch an ambitious linguistic and cultural exchange program that represents the Union government's most significant Tamil language outreach to date.
Major Expansion of Tamil Learning Initiatives
The Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0, scheduled to open at NaMo Ghat on December 2, will feature two groundbreaking programs that move beyond symbolic gestures to structured educational engagement. According to officials, this year's edition marks a substantial scaling-up of Tamil-learning activities despite ongoing disagreements between the central and state governments regarding NEET, the three-language policy, and education regulation centralization.
The initiative will deploy 50 Tamil teachers from Tamil Nadu to conduct spoken Tamil classes across 50 Varanasi schools from December 2 to 15, potentially reaching approximately 1,500 students. The inaugural batches of teachers are expected to arrive in Varanasi on December 1.
Reciprocal Student Exchange Program
In a reciprocal arrangement, 300 college students from Varanasi will travel to Tamil Nadu between December 17 and 30, organized in 10 batches. These students will first undergo orientation at the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai before being placed across nine prestigious host institutions, including IIT Madras, Central University of Pondicherry, Gandhigram Rural Institute, and Shastra University.
A senior Education Ministry official emphasized that these dual initiatives represent a shift from symbolic engagement to meaningful classroom exposure. "KTS 4.0 celebrates India's knowledge traditions by making language a living bridge," the official stated. "When Tamil teachers teach in Kashi and students from Varanasi learn Tamil in its native soil, we are renewing the shared heritage and ancient currents that have linked the two regions for centuries."
Cultural Program and Historical Connections
The eight-day program, coinciding with Karthigai Deepam on December 4, will host more than 1,500 delegates from Tamil Nadu participating in knowledge-sharing sessions, cultural events, and heritage visits to significant sites including the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, BHU, Sarnath, Hanuman Ghat, and the Ayodhya temple.
This year's theme, "Let Us Learn Tamil – Tamil Karkalam," reinforces the concept of Indian languages as integral components of a shared civilizational fabric. Officials maintain that the cultural push aims to strengthen India's linguistic traditions while fostering deeper people-to-people connections between North and South India.
Adding historical depth to the contemporary exchange, the Sage Agastya Vehicle Expedition (SAVE) will be launched on December 2, tracing ancient Tamil-Kashi linkages from Tenkasi to Varanasi. The expedition, concluding in Varanasi on December 12, will highlight civilizational ties shaped by the Chera, Chola, Pandya, Pallava, and Chalukya dynasties.
Four allied events under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat program will run concurrently with the Sangamam, further expanding the cultural dialogue between the two historically connected regions of India.
