As declared, Tagore’s Santiniketan in Birbhum district of West Bengal has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage list during the 45th Session of the World Heritage Committee held in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

In this regard, PM Modi shared on X  “Delighted that Santiniketan, an embodiment of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s vision and India’s rich cultural heritage, has been inscribed on the @UNESCO World Heritage List. This is a proud moment for all Indians.”

Established in 1901 by poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, Santiniketan was a residential school and centre for art based on ancient Indian traditions with a vision for unity of humanity transcending religious and cultural boundaries.

In 1921, based on the unity of Humanity philosophy a ‘world university’ called “Visva Bharati” was established at Santiniketan.

With its pan-Asian modernity drawing inspiration from ancient, medieval and folk traditions from across the country, Santiniketan stood distinct from the then-prevailing British colonial architectural orientations and European modernism.

“Santiniketan, popularly known today as a university town, a hundred miles to the north of Kolkata, was originally an ashram built by Debendranath Tagore, where anyone, irrespective of caste and creed, could come and spend time meditating on the one Supreme God,” said a description on the official website of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Mention must be made that India has been striving for this recognition for long. The Centre first tried for the World Heritage tag for Santiniketan in 2010.