Visva-Bharati University (Bengali: বিশ্বভারতী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the state of 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 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 from Babu Sitikanta Sinha, the zamindar of Raipur,[1] 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.
The system of education in India was not satisfactory to the idea of Rabindranath Tagore . He wanted to establish an ideal institution for education as that of the ancient ashram of India. He created an institution in Santiiketan known as Brahmacharya ashram which he renamed as Brahmacharya Vidyalaya later Santiniketan.
Having noticed the different system of education in the world he came to understand that the system of education even in the world os not meant for all round development of the minds of human being. He thought that the education is a medium through which culture of a human being or nation develops. He developed an organisation known as Vichitra in Calcutta. But the main weakness of the organisation was its Rabindra-cenricity. Subsequently he established Viswa Bharati in Santiniketan for educational and Cultural development of his students. The non-functioning of Vichitra became impending with the development of Viswa Bharati.
According to Rabindranath the ideals of co-operative is not only for economic development, it is also for the development of humanity. He remarked that the symptoms of our distress can not be removed from out side, rather, we are to remove the cuase of our distress from within. We have become detached from the development of the world and our mind has become allienated and narrow . We have to teach people to know the people of the world so that we can mix up with the people of the world . this union of the people of our country with the people of the world will help them in bringing them up.
Rabindranath wanted to implement these ideas in Viswa bharati.
