Why in news?

The Union government announced a month long programme to “strengthen” and “rekindle” the cultural and civilisational bond between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi. Named the ‘Kashi-Tamil Sangamam’, the programme would be held on November

Highlights

• The period will cover the Tamil month of Karthikeya during which all Tamil households go pray to Lord Shiva.
• This programme, which would be a part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative, is aimed at rekindling the civilisational link between the new Kashi and Tamil Nadu — both deep centres of knowledge
• The journey points in Tamil Nadu would be Chennai, Rameswaram and Coimbatore.
• The groups would include students, teachers, artisans and people from various walks of life the tours would include seminars, lectures, group meetings and visits to the Kashi Vishwanath temple and centres of important Tamil cultural heritage in Varanasi.
• The knowledge partners for the programme would be IIT-Madras and the Banaras Hindu University, while the Uttar Pradesh government would be the host State.

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat:

• It was launched in 2015 to promote engagement amongst the people of different States/UTs so as to enhance mutual understanding and bonding between people of diverse cultures, thereby securing stronger unity and integrity of India.
• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education.
• Every State and UT in the country would be paired with another State/UT for a time period, during which they would carry out a structured engagement with one another in the spheres of language, literature, cuisine, festivals, cultural events, tourism etc.