UNESCO Designates Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan as a World Heritage Site
Recognition of the Nobel Laureate of India’s Birthplace and His Vision of Unity
Santiniketan, the famed cultural and educational center established by India’s Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, has received a historic addition to UNESCO’s prized World Heritage List. This honor honours one of India’s most illustrious literary giants’ legacies while also marking a significant accomplishment for the country.
BREAKING! Santiniketan, India, has been added to the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List, the organization announced on social media. Congratulations!” The choice respects Santiniketan’s cultural and educational importance, which has served as a symbol of Tagore’s mission to promote unification across religious and cultural lines.
Rabindranath Tagore founded Santiniketan in 1901 as a residential school and creative hub steeped in traditional Indian culture. It was intended to be a location that went beyond the bounds of religion and culture to promote human harmony. In 1921, it changed into a “world university” called “Visva Bharati,” promoting the notion of a connection between all people.
The architectural and educational methods used at Santiniketan differ from early 20th-century British colonial architectural conventions and European modernism. Instead, it reflects a pan-Asian modernism that takes cues from local folklore as well as ancient and medieval customs.
The international advisory group ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), situated in France, helped India realize its goal of having Santiniketan recognized by UNESCO. A few months ago, ICOMOS proposed Santiniketan be included to the UNESCO World Heritage List, further establishing its cultural importance.
Santiniketan was once an ashram founded by Debendranath Tagore that encouraged people of all castes and creeds to reflect on the idea of the Supreme God, according to the official website of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Rabindranath Tagore eventually made it his home and the center of his artistic endeavors.
Debendranath Tagore, also known as Maharshi, which means both saint and sage, was a key figure in the Indian Renaissance and made substantial contributions to the country’s intellectual and cultural history.
The Prime Minister is the chancellor of Visva-Bharati, which is the only central university in Bengal and is located in Santiniketan.
Santiniketan has been a target of India’s efforts since 2010, and those efforts will be redoubled in 2021. Together with Visva Bharati officials, the Archaeological Survey of India created a new dossier to be submitted to UNESCO.
During a function honoring Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary in Kolkata, Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasized the impact of Santiniketan’s educational model on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. With its UNESCO recognition, Santiniketan is now firmly established as a global symbol of culture, learning, and harmony.
