Kashi Tamil Sangamam 5.0 to Run 28 November to 12 December 2026

Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi launched the registration portal for the fifth edition of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam (KTS 5.0) on 22 October 2026. The programme will run from 28 November to 12 December 2026 and is built around the old civilisational link between Tamil Nadu and Kashi, two of India’s oldest seats of learning, in the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

The theme

The theme of the fifth edition is “Thirukkural Payilvom – Thirukkural Abhyas Karen”, meaning ‘let us study the Thirukkural’. The edition is meant to carry the ethical and moral teaching of the classical Tamil text closer to young learners across the country, through classroom engagement, resources in several languages and wider public outreach, so that readers apply its universal values in daily life.

Who takes part, and where they go

Around 1,400 participants from Tamil Nadu will travel in seven groups of roughly 200 each. Every group gets an eight-day itinerary: four days of travel and four days of visits and structured programmes covering Varanasi, Prayagraj and Ayodhya, with cultural, academic, domain-specific and spiritual engagements. Registration runs on the portal kashitamil.iitm.ac.in, hosted by IIT Madras, from 22 October 2026 until 13 November 2026, under seven categories: students; teachers; writers and media professionals; agriculture and allied sectors; professionals and artisans; women; and spiritual leaders.

What else the edition carries

A nationwide Students’ Engagement Programme will reach 1,000 higher education institutions, with structured study, research and campus activities on the Thirukkural for students of every discipline and language background; details sit on the portal of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Chennai. Thirukkural experts from Tamil Nadu will visit schools and colleges in Varanasi for orientation modules, interactive sessions and quizzes, while the National Book Trust, with the Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya, will hold sessions in Varanasi schools on reading habits, storytelling and creative work. Technology will be used to put the text before a wider audience.

The organisers

The Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education organises the programme with IIT Madras, Banaras Hindu University, the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai, the Uttar Pradesh Government and central ministries including Culture, Railways, School Education, Tourism, Textiles, Food Processing Industries, Information and Broadcasting, and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The first Kashi Tamil Sangamam was held in 2022, and the four editions so far have carried exchanges of knowledge, language and tradition between the two regions.