Shantiniketan included in the UNESCO World Heritage List
Shantiniketan, the home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It was in Shantiniketan that poet Rabindranath Tagore founded Visva Bharati a century ago.
UNESCO made this announcement in a post on social media ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. UNESCO said, ‘Santiniketan included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Congratulations to India.’ India was trying for a long time to include this cultural site located in Birbhum district of West Bengal in the UNESCO heritage list.
A few months ago, the international consultancy organization ‘International Council on Monuments and Sites’ (ICOMOS) had recommended inclusion of this historical site in the UNESCO World Heritage List. ICOMOS, based in France, is an international non-governmental organization composed of professionals, experts, local authorities, companies and representatives of heritage organizations, dedicated to the conservation and promotion of the world’s architectural and heritage sites.
According to details recorded on the official website of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Shantiniketan, 160 km from Kolkata, was originally an ashram built by Rabindranath Tagore’s father Debendranath Tagore, where anyone, irrespective of caste and creed, could come and receive education. It says that Debendranath Tagore, popularly known as Maharishi, was the leading figure of the Indian Renaissance. Among the structures built by the Maharishi were Shantiniketan Griha and a temple.
🔴BREAKING!
New inscription on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List: Santiniketan, #India 🇮🇳. Congratulations! 👏👏
➡️ https://t.co/69Xvi4BtYv #45WHC pic.twitter.com/6RAVmNGXXq
— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) September 17, 2023
“Both structures, built in the late 19th century, are significant in their connection with the founding of Santiniketan and the universal sentiment associated with the revival and reinterpretation of religious ideals in Bengal and India,” the website said.
Located in Santiniketan, Visva-Bharati, one of India’s most prestigious universities, offers degree courses in humanities, social sciences, sciences, fine arts, music, performing arts, education, agricultural sciences and rural reconstruction. This university was founded by Rabindranath Tagore. In 1951, it was declared a Central University and an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament. Visva-Bharati is the only central university of West Bengal and the Prime Minister is its Chancellor.
