Banaras – The Pluralism capital of India

Banaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legends, and looks twice as old as them put together!! – Mark Twain

The holiest and the oldest city 
in India stands as an epitome of cultural heritage for centuries now.

Varanasi erstwhile Banaras – happens to be my native city and has been the apple of every tourist’s eye who desires to visit India. The city wakes with chants of Ganga Aarti at Dashashvamedh ghat and Azaan at Gyanvyapi Mosque, while the rest of our nation is still in slumber. This cultural and religious confluence of Banaras deepens with the presence of Sarnath, where Lord Gautam Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and the city is equally close to heart of Jains as 3 Jain Tirthankars were born in this Holy city. Banaras has been an archetype of pluralism across the globe.

Known for its various centres of religious and cultural importance like Kashi Vishwanath Mandir and Ghats at Ganges river basin, Banaras holds a distinguished place in the world for people of all the religions.

Banaras has also been a knowledge hub since centuries with various Kings and their princes attaining primary wisdom on the banks of Ganges, Banaras also hails Banaras Hindu University established by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya in 1916 A.D which is also the largest residential university (even bigger than any of the IIMs and IITs) in India. 


Apart from boasting the religious and educational excellence Banaras is also home to 4 Bharat Ratna recipients (highest civilian award in India), most by any city across the country.

No wonder during Indian General Elections of 2014, BJP’s then Prime Ministerial candidate and India’s current Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi chose Banaras as his constituency.

Banaras today is at the centre of Indian politics, but the fact is that safeguarding its religious sanctity along with the pluralism and sociocultural inclusiveness should be a matter of high priority to all the Indians. Inspite of living almost 1500 kilometers away from the city it is just not possible for me to get over the bond that connects me to this cultural hub of India. With over 50 lakh tourists visiting the city annually, Banaras today has become the face of Indian cultural diversity.

The thought of Banaras and its importance to our nation frequently lingers in my mind and I recently read about a few intellectuals who have identified the need to preserve the Banaras' Culture and come up with a solution through a summit called the Banaras Convention. This summit seems intriguing and the agenda put forth by the organizers is engaging and I wish them the very best in their noble initiative.

Words aren’t enough to describe how divine my Banaras is, it is for us as individuals to visit the city once and experience the euphoria and for the administration and civilians to maintain the pluralism and inclusiveness of Banaras for eternity.