Kashi can’t be Kyoto, says K Govindacharya

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi might have inked a deal with the Japanese city of Kyoto to develop his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi, but former Sangh ideologue K Govindacharya feels Kashi is best left as Kashi and that India shouldn’t imitate foreigners in restoring the glory of the ancient city.

“Kashi can’t be Kyoto,” he told ET on Friday, adding that the two cities were very different in character and any attempt to make one look like the other will only result in Kashi losing its cultural essence. “Comparing the two cities is not proper as they are very different in nature. This is where the direction of Kashi’s development itself has gone wrong,” he said.

“Kashi has 12 jyotirlings, several shaktipeeths. It is where lord Shiva resides, this is where the Ganga becomes Uttarvahini. The city is not a dwelling but a message to the world. Kyoto in comparison is a baccha,” he said.

Modi, in his recent visit to Japan, had inked a partner city affiliation agreement with Kyoto that will facilitate co-operation in the fields of heritage conservation, city modernization and culture. Under this pact, Kyoto and Kashi will prepare a detailed roadmap for making Kashi a ‘smart city’.

He said that to restore the ‘cultural glory and pride’ of an ancient city like Varanasi, one need not have to imitate foreigners but adopt an indigenous model that will understand and not disturb its essence. He was on a two-day trip to Varanasi to organise consultations with old associates.

He also stressed the importance of understanding ‘Gau, Ganga, Gaav’ (Cow, Ganga, Village) in the Indian context before embarking on any model to develop or transform them into smart cities.