On Sunday, March 19th, the central government’s historical Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam will take its first major step towards official unveiling with the launch event of the Tamil Nadu roadshow in Chennai. The event will feature the official registration portal launch, theme song release, logo unveiling, and master banner presentation. The event will be attended by ministers and dignitaries from both the Government of India and the State Government of Gujarat.

Initiated by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam aims to celebrate cultural exchange programs between states that share a historical and cultural connection. This initiative aims to honour the vibrant Saurashtrian community which has been present in Tamil Nadu for a thousand years and throw light on the history of those Saurashtrians whose ancestors left their homes near the Kathiawar peninsula for centuries ago and settled across Tamil Nadu. Chennai will be the first among the nine cities to where the roadshow will travel, these include Madurai, Dindigul,Paramakudi, Salem, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli, and Trichy which are collectively home to nearly 12 lakh Saurashtra people.

The attendees at Sunday’s event include Dr. MansukhMandaviya, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals &Fertilisers;  Dr. L. Murugan, Union MoS for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Information & Broadcasting; Shri KunvarjibhaiBavaliya Minister of Water Resources & Water Supply, Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection Affairs, GoG; Shri JagdishVishwakarma, Minister of Co-operation& Protocol (Independent Charge), Micro, Small and Medium Industries, Cottage, Khadi& Rural Industries and Civil Aviation (State Minister), GoG, and Shri K. Annamalai, State President, Tamil Nadu BJP, among others. 

Although the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam is being officially launched this year, the foundation for the idea was laid down over a decade ago by Hon PM Shri Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Under his leadership, a delegation from Tamil Nadu visited Saurashtra University in 2006. There was also a joint program organised in Madurai by the Saurashtra University and the Sourashtra Chamber of Commerce. And there was the historic and monumental Saurashtra SamuhaSangamamorganised in Madurai in the presence of Shri Narendra Modi - an event that had witnessed nearly 50,000 Saurashtrians come together. 

The Tamil Nadu Road Show will focus on the rich socio-cultural history and legacy of language, weaving, literature, religion, art, business and education of the Saurashtra community spread across 47 cities and towns of the state. It will also help highlight the untold history of the Saurashtra community, who worshipped the sun god (as reflected in the Sanskrit term Saura) and were known as "Pattavayahs", weavers of thin fine silk and cotton fabrics. More importantly, it will help to understand how the Saurashtrian community made Tamil Nadu their home by finding common ground with the locals in terms of shared coastal geography and a cultural tradition of worshipping similar deities, further highlighting the oneness of India’s culture. 

The Sangamam event, starting on April 17th, welcomes all individuals, including Gujaratis residing in Tamil Nadu, and also people of Tamil Nadu state. There are no restrictions on who can attend this event. It will be the very first and largest historic reunion after a gap of several centuries and will mark an important milestone in the history of the two states that were once bound together.