PTI file photo
NEW DELHI: Even as the Centre and the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government continue to spar over education-related issues, the fourth edition of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam (KTS) marks a significant expansion of the Union government’s Tamil language outreach with two major initiatives — sending 300 college students from Varanasi to Tamil Nadu for immersive Tamil learning and bringing 50 Tamil teachers to Varanasi schools to teach spoken Tamil. Officials maintain that the push remains culturally anchored and aimed at strengthening India’s linguistic traditions.KTS 4.0 will open at NaMo Ghat on December 2, coinciding with Karthigai Deepam on December 4. More than 1,500 delegates from Tamil Nadu will participate in an eight-day programme featuring knowledge-sharing sessions, cultural events and heritage visits to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, BHU, Sarnath, Hanuman Ghat and the Ayodhya temple. The theme — “Let Us Learn Tamil – Tamil Karkalam” — reinforces the idea of Indian languages as part of a shared civilisational fabric.What makes this year’s edition notable is the Centre’s scaling-up of Tamil-learning programmes at a time when its relationship with the Tamil Nadu government remains strained over NEET, the three-language policy and centralisation of education regulation. Officials say the reciprocal model — Tamil teachers in UP and UP students in Tamil Nadu — is intended to deepen “people-to-people connections.” Under the Tamil KarkaLam campaign, 50 teachers from Tamil Nadu will begin spoken Tamil classes across 50 Varanasi schools from December 2 to 15, reaching 1,500 students. The inaugural batches arrive on December 1.In return, 300 college students from Varanasi will travel in 10 batches to Tamil Nadu between December 17 and 30. After an orientation at the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai, they will be placed across nine host institutions, including IIT Madras, Central University of Pondicherry, Gandhigram Rural Institute and Shastra University. Formal send-offs are planned in Varanasi.A senior official with the ministry of education said the dual initiatives would “take Tamil learning beyond symbolic engagement to structured classroom exposure.”“KTS 4.0 celebrates India’s knowledge traditions by making language a living bridge,” said the official, adding, “With 50 Tamil teachers reaching 1,500 students in Varanasi schools and 300 college students undertaking Tamil study tours, this edition marks a measurable expansion of linguistic exchange. 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.” The Sage Agastya Vehicle Expedition (SAVE) — tracing ancient Tamil–Kashi linkages from Tenkasi to Varanasi — will also be launched on December 2, highlighting civilisational ties shaped by the Chera, Chola, Pandya, Pallava and Chalukya dynasties. It will conclude in Varanasi on December 12.Four allied events under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat will run alongside the Sangamam.