Visva-Bharati University

Visva-Bharati
'বিশ্বভারতী
विश्वभारती
Motto Yatra Visvam Bhavatyekanidam
Motto in English
 Where the world makes a home in a single nest
Type Centrally funded Autonomous university
Established 1921
Chancellor Prime Minister of India
Vice-Chancellor Vacant
Academic staff
 515
Students 6,500
Location Santiniketan, West Bengal, India
Campus Rural
Affiliations UGC
Website http://www.visva-bharati.ac.in

Visva-Bharati University (Bengali: বিশ্বভারতী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) is one of India's major Central Government funded autonomous universities located in Santiniketan, West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India. In its initial years Tagore expressed his dissatisfaction with the word 'university', since university translates to Vishva-Vidyalaya, which is smaller in scope than Visva Bharati. Until independence it was a college. Soon after independence, in 1951, the institution was given the status of a university and was renamed Visva Bharati University. The English daily, The Nation, notes, "Using the money he received with his Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, the school was expanded and renamed Visva-Bharati University. It grew to become one of India's most renowned places of higher learning, with a list of alumni that includes Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen, globally renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray and the country's leading art historian, R. Siva Kumar, to name just a few."[1] On 4 April 2016 Visva-Bharati secured 11th rank ( All Indian Rank) in University category by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

History

Rabindranath Tagore with Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi at Santiniketan in 1940

The origins of the university date back to 1863 when Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, the zamindar of Silaidaha in East Bengal, was given a tract of land by Babu Sitikanta Sinha, the zamindar of Raipur,[2] which is a neighbouring village not far from Bolepur and present-day Santiniketan and set up an ashram at the spot that has now come to be called chatim tala at the heart of the town. The ashram was initially called Brahmacharya Ashram, which was later renamed Brahmacharya Vidyalaya. It was established with a view to encourage people from all walks of life to come to the spot and meditate. In 1901 his youngest son Rabindranath Tagore established a co-educational school inside the premises of the ashram. Pramatha Chaudhuri 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 (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.[3]

Upasana Griha, Prayer Hall, built by Debendranath Tagore in 1863, Santiniketan.

On 23 December 1921, Tagore formally started the college with proceeds from the prize money of the Nobel Prize he received in 1913 for the publication of his book of poems Gitanjali. The college also became a centre of Brahmo learning in this period. It was granted full university status in May 1951 by the government of independent India. The poet's youngest son, Rathindranath Tagore, became the first upacharya (vice chancellor) of the new university. Another member of the Tagore family who performed the role of upacharya was Indira Devi Chaudhurani, a niece of the poet.

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 University, 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.

Upacharyas
  • Rathindranath Tagore, 1951–1953
  • Kshitimohan Sen, 1953–1954 (acting)
  • Prabodh Chandra Bagchi, 1954–1956
  • Indiradevi Chaudhurani, 1956-1956 (acting)
  • Satyendranath Bose, 1956–1958
  • Kshitishchandra Chaudhuri, 1958-1959 (acting)
  • Sudhi Ranjan Das, 1959–1965
  • Kalidas Bhattacharya, 1966–1970
  • Pratul Chandra Gupta, 1970–1975
  • Surajit Chandra Sinha, 1975–1980
  • Amlan Dutta, 1980–1984
  • Nemai Sadhan Bosu, 1984–1989
  • Ajit Kumar Chakrabarty, 1989-1990 (performed the duty of upacharya)
  • Ashin Dasgupta, 1990–1991
  • Sisir Mukhopadhyaya, 1991-1991 (performed the duty of upacharya)
  • Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, 1991–1995
  • Sisir Mukhopadhyay, 1995-1995 (performed the duty of upacharya)
  • R.R.Rao, 1995-1995 (performed the duty of upacharya)
  • Dilip K.Sinha, 1995–2001
  • Sujit Basu, 2001–2006
  • Rajat Kanta Ray, 2006–2011
  • Sushanta Kumar Dattagupta, 2011–2015

Administration

The high officials of the university include the paridarshaka (visitor), acharya (chancellor), and the upacharya (vice chancellor). The paridarshaka of this university is the president of India, while the acharya is the prime minister. 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.

Academics

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.

Institutes and museums

Associated institutes

Both institutes are now affiliated with the West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT), which was formed to bring all engineering education under different universities in West Bengal under a single umbrella. IIIT Kolkata (International Institute of Information Technology) was renamed to IERCEM Institute of Information Technology after its affiliation with the WBUT.

Schools

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. The library has around 6,500 users, of which 350 users visit Central Library per day and daily transaction is of 300 books.

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 Palli, named after the eminent early twentieth century industrialist and scion of Tata family, Sir Ratan Tata, and Purba Palli.

Campus life

Poush Mela Bazaar, 2012.

The twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan are surrounded by Bolpur to the north, Kheya to the south, Surul to the east and Prantik to the west. The towns and the university are not far from the river Kopai which flows to the south.

This university is especially famous for its cultural festivals:

Notable alumni

University

School (Patha Bhavana, originally Santiniketan Vidyalaya)

Eminent academics

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Exploring-Mother-Indias-cradle-of-art-30206439.html
  2. ↑ The most famous son of the zamindari family of Raipur was Lord Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, the first Indian governor of Orissa and Bihar (1919-1920). Other well-known members of the same family included his younger brother Major N.P. Sinha, an IMS officer, as well as one of his six grandsons, Mohit Sen, a well-known communist ideologue and writer of the latter half of twentieth century India.
  3. ↑ The entire neighbourhood of Purbapalli belonged to the former zamindars of Taltore.
  4. ↑ "Kalyan Banerjee Rotary International President-Elect". Show Me Rotary. Missouri District 6040, 6060, 6080. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "The presidents of Rotary International 1997-98 to 2011-12". Rotary Global History Fellowship (An internet project). Rotary Global HIstory Fellowship. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
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