Preserving Tamil legacy responsibility of 130 cr Indians: Modi

VARANASI: It is the responsibility of 130 crore Indians to preserve the legacy of Tamil and ignoring it will be a great disservice to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday as he stressed on “removing linguistic differences and establishing emotional unity”.

In his inaugural speech at the Kasi Tamil Sangamam here, the Prime Minister lamented that despite having one of the world’s oldest living languages, Tamil, “we lack in honouring it fully”. “This is the responsibility of 130 crore Indians to preserve the legacy of Tamil and enrich it. “If we ignore Tamil we do a great disservice to the nation and if we keep Tamil confined in restrictions, we will do great harm to it. We have to remember to remove linguistic differences and establish emotional unity,” Modi said.

He hailed Kasi and Tamil Nadu as timeless centres of culture (‘sanskriti’) and civilisation (‘sabhyata’). Both regions are also the centres of the world’s oldest languages like Sanskrit and Tamil, the PM noted. “In our country, there is an importance of ‘sangams’ (confluences). From the confluence of rivers and streams to ideas-ideology, knowledge-science and societies-cultures, we have celebrated all the confluences,” he said.

“If in Kasi there is Baba Vishwanath, then in Tamil Nadu there is the blessing of Lord Rameshwaram. Both Kasi and Tamil Nadu are ‘Shivmay’ (drenched in the devotion of Lord Shiv) and ‘Shaktimay’ (drenched in the devotion of Goddess Shakti),” he said at the event in his Lok Sabha constituency. There is a Dakshin Kasi in Tamil Nadu too, the PM noted. He also termed Kasi and Tamil Nadu two“amazing sources of music, literature and art.”

Sangamam festival of pride: Ravi

Governor RN Ravi on Saturday said the Kasi-Tamil Sangamam is a ‘festival of pride’ for every Indian. The month-long festival is not only commemorating but also revitalising the relations and connect between Kasi and Tamizhagam (Tamil Nadu). These two places have an umbilical relation for several thousands of years. “Kasi lives in the heart of people in Tamil Nadu, ” he said.

Kasi-Tamil Sangamam: Gayathri anguished at BJP for ignoring her

When BJP state unit was celebrating the commencement of the month-long Kasi Tamil Sangamam in Prime minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, president of TN BJP’s Other State and Overseas Tamil Development Wing Gayathri Raguram took to social media to express her disappointment for ignoring her and her team.

Interestingly, the actor-turned-politician was one of the members of the selection committee, which scrutinised the applicants and selected the participants for the programme. “I miss #Kashi-Tamil Sangamam. I am upset. Feeling ignored. Sometimes, I wonder if my hard work is going in vain. I guess that’s politics,”she tweeted to overtly express her anguish against the state leadership.

Sources close to Gayathri said persons close to state president K Annamalai were given opportunities to participate in the inauguration of Kashi-Tamil Sangamam programme.