Visva-Bharati () is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

central university and an

Institution of National Importance Institute of National Importance (INI) is a status that may be conferred on a premier public higher education institution in India by an act of Parliament of India, an institution which "serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled pe ...

located in Shantiniketan,

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, India. It was founded by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the world with India. Until independence it was a college. Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament.

Overview

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...

'' writes, "Santiniketan in many ways is still quite different compared to other universities in the country. Located at Bolpur in Birbhum district of West Bengal, the university still has the rural trappings that Tagore dreamt of. The classes are still held in the open under the shade of huge mango trees and students and tutors alike still travel by cycles to keep pollution at bay. The old buildings, even those that were made up of mud walls and thatched roofs, are still intact and find a place within the main campus. While some are preserved for historical value, others are functional in all aspects. While for tourists the place could only be place for sight-seeing, the studious and the academically-inclined can easily feel the scholastic vibrations. Many, especially the Bengalis, have deep reverence for the place and take the visit as a pilgrimage to pay their respects to Tagore. Almost every festival, be it the local ‘ Poush mela' or the more universal ‘Raksha Bandhan' or ‘Holi,' is celebrated in its originality by the students, locals and staff on the campus... Tagore visualised it as a ‘seat of learning', and his vision was taken forward by Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru. Both played a stellar role in its becoming a Central University in 1951."

History

Visva-Bharati University 1971 stamp of India

The origins of the institution date back to 1863 when

Debendranath Tagore Debendranath Tagore (15 May 1817 – 19 January 1905) was an Indian Hindu philosopher and religious reformer, active in the Brahmo Samaj (earlier called Bhramho Sabha) ("Society of Brahma", also translated as ''Society of God''). He joined Brahm ...

was given a tract of land by the zamindar of

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...

, zamindar of Kirnahar and he set up an ''

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

established a co-educational school inside the premises of the ashram. From 1901 onwards, Tagore used the ashram to organise the Hindu Mela, which soon became a centre of nationalist activity. Through the early twentieth century the zamindars of

Surul Surul is a census town in Bolpur Sriniketan CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Surul is a village adjacent to Visva-Bharati University, founded by Rabindranath Tagore. A major part of ...

(Sarkar Family), another neighbouring village, a few minutes by cycle from the Uttarayan Complex, and the zamindars of Taltore, a village just north of the university town, continued to sell their lands and other properties to the ashram and the college that was being built on this spot. The entire neighbourhood of Purbapalli belonged to the former zamindars of Taltore. Santiniketan Prayer Hall

Rabindranath Tagore believed in open air education and had reservations about any teaching done within four walls. This was due to his belief that walls represent conditioning of mind. Tagore did not have a good opinion about the Western method of education introduced by the British in India; on this subject, Tagore and Gandhiji's opinion matched. Tagore once said, "I do not remember what I was taught, I only remember what I learnt." Tagore's idea on education was that every person is genius and that all students may not bloom at the same time. So he devised a new system of learning in Visva-Bharati. He allowed students to continue their course till the student and his teacher both are satisfied. At Visva-Bharati, if a course demanded by a student is not available, then the university will design a course and bring teachers for that course. The university would not be bothered by the consideration of whether there is a demand for the course.

Campus

Visva-Bharati University is located about by road from

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan, in the district of Birbhum, West Bengal. The nearest railway station is Bolpur (Santiniketan) on the Eastern Railway, the domestic air terminal is

Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport , is a domestic airport serving the cities of Durgapur and Asansol. It is located at Andal, Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. It is named after Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. The airport is roughly from Dur ...

, Durgapur and the international air terminal is

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an international airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the Kolkata Metropolitan Area and is the aviation hub for eastern and northeastern India. It is located approximatel ...

, Kolkata. The institute's buildings and departments are scattered among the two towns. The twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan are surrounded by

Bolpur Bolpur is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bolpur subdivision. Bolpur municipal area includes Santiniketan, Sriniketan and Prantik. The city is known as a Cultu ...

to the north, Kheya to the south,

to the east and

Prantik ''Prantik'' is a multi-topic Assamese language magazine published fortnightly from Guwahati since 1981. It plays a vital role in the socio-political lives of the people of Assam, India. The founding chief editor of the magazine was Bhabendran ...

to the west. The towns and the university are not far from the river Kopai which flows to the south.

Satellite campus

In 2018 at a cultural program in Indonesia, former officiating VC Sabuj Kali Sen in her tenure told to former

MHRD The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The Ministry is further ...

Shri,

Ramesh Pokhriyal Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" (born 15 July 1959), is an Indian politician who was appointed on 31 May 2019 to serve as Minister of Human Resource Development and as of July 2020, following the ministry's name change, his title was changed to Min ...

Tagore’s connection with Ramgarh. He was immediately interested. On 8 July 2020 he Official announced to build the new campus at Ramgarh in

Nainital district Nainital district is a district in Kumaon division which is a part of Uttarakhand state in India. The headquarters is at Nainital. Nainital District is located in Kumaon Division, and is located in the lower Himalayas. Haldwani is the larges ...

. She recalled, The University later responded to his suggestion and prepared the proposal. The Uttarakhand government has handed over 45 acres of land to the university free of cost to set up a campus. The university is keen to start five schools of studies at its first satellite centre in Nainital's Ramgarh from July 2022, Until the campus is ready, the university will function from a temporary campus. Ramgarh was one of Tagore's favourite holiday destinations, where he purchased a bungalow on a hilltop. Around 10 acres, on which the bungalow stands, is also likely to be given to the university, which plans to turn it into a museum to showcase Tagore's work. the centre would begin functioning with around 650 students in five schools of studies: language, art & culture, Himalayan studies, social science and public policy & good governance. "All the schools would be multi-disciplinary,"

Organisation and administration

Governance

The high officials of the university include the ''paridarshaka'' (visitor), ''pradhana'' (rector), ''acharya'' (

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

), and the ''upacharya'' (

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

). The paridarshaka of this university is the

president of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

, the pradhana is the

governor of West Bengal The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of state of the Indian state of West Bengal and a representative of the President of India. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. His official residence is the Raj ...

while the acharya is the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. The ''samsad'' or University Court is the supreme authority of the University and has the power to review the acts of the ''Karma Samity'' (Executive Council) and the ''Siksha Samity'' (Academic Council). The Executive Council is the highest executive body of the University. The Academic Council is the highest academic body of the University and is responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, education and examination within the university. It has the right to advise the Executive Council on all academic matters. The university is run by its ''Karma Samity'' (Executive Council) which is chaired by the acharya. The institutes and departments are located in both Santiniketan and Sriniketan.

Institutes and centres

The university is divided into institutes, centres, departments and schools. The respective departments are included in the institutes. The university's programmes dealing with its rich cultural heritage, as well as art and dance education, are funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan

* Kala Bhavana (Institute of Fine Arts) *

Sangit Bhavana Sangit Bhavana (Institute of Dance, Drama and Music), of Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, started functioning as a part of Kala Bhavana in 1919 and as a separate institution in 1933. It was established by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tag ...

(Institute of Dance, Drama & Music) * Cheena Bhavana (Institute of Chinese Language and Culture) * Palli Samgathana Vibhaga (Institute of Rural Reconstruction) * Rabindra Bhavana (Institute of Tagore Studies and Research) was founded, immediately after the poet's death, in July 1942. It is the focal point of the university. It has among its treasures a major part of Tagore's manuscripts, correspondences, paintings and sketches. It houses a museum, archives, library, audio-visual unit and preservation unit. The museum in the Vichitra building is open to the public at specified hours and is being expanded continually. *Hindi Bhavana - The foundation stone was laid by C.F. Andrews and

Kshitimohan Sen Kshitimohan Sen (2 December 1880 – 12 March 1960) was Indian scholar, writer, a Sanskrit professor and an M.A. in Sanskrit from Queen's College, Benares. He was born in a family hailing from Sonarang in Bengal Presidency (now in Bangladesh). H ...

and the tireless endeavour of Pandit Banarasidas Chaturvedi bore fruit with the completion of the Hindi-Bhavana building on 31 January 1939. Hindi Bhavana was inaugurated by

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

in February 1939.

Hazari Prasad Dwivedi Hazari Prasad Dwivedi (19 August 190719 May 1979) was a Hindi novelist, literary historian, essayist, critic and scholar. He penned numerous novels, collections of essays, historical research on medieval religious movements of India especially K ...

helped in founding the Hindi Bhavana and was its head for many years. * Nippon Bhavana was formally inaugurated by K.R.Narayanan, then vice-president of India, on 3 February 1994. A 2-year certificate course and a 1-year diploma course were started in 1954. It was the first university in India to start Japanese language courses in India. In the initial stages Japanese Buddhism and language were taught in the department. As of 2019, the Department of Japanese Studies which is under Bhasha-Bhavana is housed at Nippon Bhavana. It has a library of its own consisting of books, mostly in Japanese, but also in English and other languages. The aim of the Bhavana is to build up a research centre. *Bangladesh Bhavana was inaugurated jointly by

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

, Prime Minister of India, and

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, on 25 May 2018. Funded by the Bangladesh government, it has a 450-seat auditorium, the largest in the university. Housing a museum and a library, it is divided into four zones – Zone I : Undivided Bengal, Zone II: Chronicled phases of the language movement, Zone III: Bangladesh Liberation War and Zone IV: Rabindranath Tagore’s life in Bangladesh. *Siksha Bhavana (Institute of Science) comprises eleven constituents: ten departments (biotechnology, botany, chemistry, computer & system sciences, environmental studies, integrated science education & research, mathematics, physics, statistics and zoology) and one centre (Mathematics Education) where both teaching and research programmes are running leading to award of B.Sc.(Hons.), M.Sc., Integrated M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. It offers B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc, courses. *Vidya Bhavana (Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences) is the keystone of Tagore's concept of Visva-Bharati as a Centre of Indian Culture. It conducts under-graduate and post-graduate courses and has research facilities. It offers courses in Ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology, medieval & modern history, comparative religion, philosophy and economics & politics. It houses the centre for journalism and mass communication. A one-year integrated course on Indian culture and civilisation is offered to foreign students. It has a well-equipped Archaeological Museum. Vidya Bhavana offers certificate courses in Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Marathi, Odiya, Pali, Persian, Russian, Sanskrit, Santali, Tamil, Tibetan and Urdu. *Centre for Modern European Languages, Literature and Culture Studies was established in 2014 to promote an understanding of European civilisation and its diverse impact on the world. It offers certificate, diploma and undergraduate courses in French, German, Italian and Russian, and offers scope for post-graduate studies and research. *Bhasa Bhavana (Institute of Languages, Literature and Culture) houses English, Indian language departments (Sanskrit, Odia, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi) and foreign language departments (Chinese, Japanese, Indo-Tibetan, Arabic, Persian). There are undergraduate and post graduate courses. *Vinaya Bhavana (Institute of Education) was established in 1948 for training in art and craft and music and subsequently developed as a full-fledged Teachers Training College in 1951. It offers courses in education and physical education. *Palli Siksha Bhavana (Institute of Agricultural Science) at

Sriniketan Sriniketan (also spelt Sri Niketan) is a neighbourhood of Surul in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is adjacent to Santiniketan and houses the second campus of Visva-Bharati University. The Palli Samg ...

imparts education in Agricultural Sciences. It offers four-years (eight semesters) B Sc (Ag) Honours course and two-years M Sc (Ag) courses in agronomy, plant protection, agricultural extension, soil science & agricultural chemistry and horticulture. There are facilities for research leading to Ph D degree. It is also engaged in extension activities. It was established on 1 September 1963 as Palli- Siksha Sadana and renamed as Palli Siksha Bhavana in 1983.

Schools

Patha Bhavana Patha Bhavana is an institution of primary and secondary education in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India. Founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1901, starting with only five students, the school is characterized by its philosophy of lea ...

: It is not only the oldest school of the university but also the oldest institution on which the university was subsequently built. It is the university school of Santiniketan. Initially called Ashram Vidyalaya it was later called Santiniketan Vidyalaya. It was started by Tagore in 1901. The distinctive features of this co-educational school include its open-air classrooms and emphasis upon oriental learning. The school, being the nucleus of the university and the town is within the Santiniketan Ashram. The first four students of the school included Tagore's son Rathindranath Tagore, the first upacharya of the university and

Sudhi Ranjan Das Sudhi Ranjan Das (1 October 1894 – 18 September 1977) was the 5th Chief Justice of India, serving from 1 February 1956 to 30 September 1959. Das also served as chairman of '' The Statesman''. Background and education S.R. Das was born in ...

, a chief justice of India. The future Nobel Laureate in economics,

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economi ...

, graduated from this school. So did one of the first Indian Rhodes scholars, Asim Datta. Supriyo Tagore, a great grandson of

Satyendranath Tagore Satyendranath Tagore (1 June 1842 – 9 January 1923) was an Indian Bengali civil servant, poet, composer, writer, social reformer and linguist from Kolkata, West Bengal. He was the first Indian who became an Indian Civil Service officer in 18 ...

, the eldest brother of the poet, was one of its longest serving and most well known Principals. The eminent historians, Tapan Raychaudhuri and Ashin Dasgupta have periodically taken classes here. *Mrinalini Ananda Pathsala: Founded in 1954, it was named after Rabindranath Tagore's wife Mrinalini Devi. It is a preparatory school for Patha Bhavana. It is housed in the Notun Bari and Dehali. *Santosh Pathsala: Founded in 1988, it is a kindergarten named after Santosh Chandra Majumdar. It is a preparatory school for Siksha Satra. * Siksha Satra: It was founded in 1924. It was later shifted to Sriniketan in 1927. The students are from the neighbouring villages. *Uttar Shiksha Sadana: This school was started in 1976.

Academics

Rankings

The

National Institutional Ranking Framework The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a methodology adopted by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The Framework was approved by the MHRD and launched by Minister ...

(NIRF) ranked Visva-Bharati 69th overall in India and 50th among universities in India. According to Best Global Universities 2020 ranking produced by U.S. News & World Report, Visva- Bharati ranked 4th among Indian universities.

Library

Visva-Bharati Library was established in 1901, at the time of foundation of the Brahmacharya Asrama at Santiniketan by Rabindranath Tagore. Presently, Visva-Bharati Library System has a Central Library, 12 Sectional libraries attached with Cheena-Bhavana, Siksha-Bhavana, Patha-Bhavana, Darshan Sadan, Hindi-Bhavana, Sangit-Bhavana, Palli Sangathan Vibhaga, Vinaya-Bhavana, Rabindra-Bhavana, Palli Siksha Bhavana, Kala-Bhavana and Siksha-Satra. Moreover, around 30 Seminar Libraries are in operation attached to different departments. Visva-Bharati Central Library

Visva-Bharati library contains old and rare documents, which include multi-lingual and multi-discipline books, reports, manuscripts, etc. The library also has a number of important collections; mention may be made of the collections of Rabindranath Tagore, Prabodh Chandra.

Guest houses

The university has two guest houses: Ratan Kuthi (named after industrialist

Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata, GBE (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also the chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, serving also as interim chairman from October 2016 through February 201 ...

) and Purba Palli Guest House.

Student life

Cultural festivals

This university is especially famous for its cultural festivals: * Basanta Utsab (Spring Festival): This festival is identified with ''doljatra'' or ''holi'', which is held on the grounds in front of Patha Bhavana. *

Poush Mela Poush Mela ( bn, পৌষ মেলা) is an annual fair and festival that takes place in Santiniketan, in Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal, marking the harvest season. Commencing on the 7th day of the month of Poush, t ...

(Winter Fair): It is the annual winter fair which is held every ''Poush'' which coincides with December on ''Purono Melar Maath'' opposite the ashram and next to the Uttarayan complex, as well as on Melar Maath (Bhubandangar Maath), which is next to the administrative block. The fair is meant to encourage the local people of Birbhum and outlying districts to come and exhibit and sell their wares. ''Jatras'', such as

Alkap Alkap ( bn, আলকাপ) is a Bengali folk dance popular in the districts of Murshidabad, Malda and Birbhum in West Bengal and Chapai Nawabganj, Randajshahi in Bangladesh. It has also spread to the adjoining areas of Jharkhand and Bihar s ...

, are staged and Bouls perform at the fair. On the first day of the fair, (23 December), the university organises an Upasana Sabha at Chatimtala (under a chatim tree), the spot where Maharshi Debendranath Tagore established his ashram for the first time in 1863. On 24 December the university organises a display of lights and fireworks on Melar Maath, a custom started by the poet, Rabindranath Tagore himself. On Christmas Day, the university organises the Christo Utsab, which is meant as a mark of respect for all religions.

Notable alumni and faculties

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges in Birbhum district Art schools in India Central universities in India Memorials to Rabindranath Tagore Academic institutions associated with the Bengal Renaissance Educational institutions established in 1921 1901 establishments in India 1921 establishments in British India Universities in West Bengal