Visva-Bharati University

Visva-Bharati (IAST: Viśva-Bhāratī) (Bengali: [biʃːobʱaroti]) is a public central university and an Institute of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. The foundation stone was laid on 8 Poush 1325 (24th December 1918) by Rabindranath Tagore, 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 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."

Campus

Visva-Bharati University is located about 170 km (110 mi) by road from Kolkata 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, Durgapur and the international air terminal is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata. The institute's buildings and departments are scattered among the two towns.

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.

Satellite campus

In 2018 at a cultural program in Indonesia, former officiating VC Sabuj Koli Sen in her tenure told to the then minister of MHRD, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal, about Tagore's connection with Ramgarh. He was immediately interested. On 8 July 2020, he announced the building of the new campus at Ramgarh in Nainital district. The University later responded to his suggestion and made preparations accordingly. Government of Uttarakhand 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, public policy and good governance.

Organisation and administration

Governance

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

The campus security is provided by the CISF, since 2019.

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 Bhavana (Institute of Fine Arts)
• Sangit Bhavana (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 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 in February 1939. Hazari Prasad Dwivedi helped in founding the Hindi Bhavana and was its head for many years.

Nippon Bhavana (Centre for fostering Indo-Japanese relations) 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.

Academics

Ranking and Reputation

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked Visva-Bharati in the 151-200 band overall and 101-150 among universities in India in 2024.

According to Best Global Universities 2020 ranking produced by U.S. News & World Report, Visva- Bharati ranked 4th among Indian universities.

Controversy

The university terminated the services of the Professor of Economics, Sudipta Bhattacharya, for allegedly supporting the student protests against the then Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty's undemocratic action and attempts of saffronisation of the university. The university, however, claimed that the removal of the professor was to prevent damaging the academic environment of the university. 261 academics came out in support of Prof. Bhattacharya, including Noam Chomsky, Prabhat Patnaik, Utsa Patnaik, Amiya Kumar Bagchi, etc.

In April 2022, Sumit Basu, a professor in the Manipuri department of Visva-Bharati was arrested on charges of racially abusing a student.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)