Rabindranath Tagore

A History of Santiniketan: A university against national chauvinism

Uma Das Gupta's history of Santiniketan traces Tagore's educational vision, the making of Vishva-Bharati, and the challenges that shaped his alternative to nationalist orthodoxy

Congress accuses PM Modi of distorting history, insulting founding fathers

The Congress on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "distorting" history and insulting India's founding fathers, including Rabindranath Tagore, while demanding an apology from him after he slammed the opposition party over the dropping of stanzas from "Vande Mataram" in 1937. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared pages of Tagore's biography in Bengali, where he suggested that the first two stanzas of "Vande Mataram" be adopted as the national song. "Here are pages 110-112 from vol 4 of the authoritative biography in Bengali of Rabindranath Tagore titled Rabindra-Jeebanee by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, published by Visva-Bharati in 1994," Ramesh said in a post on X, while sharing the pages. "The Master Distorian of a PM must render an apology. He has insulted our founding fathers and most of all Tagore himself," he added. In an apparent attack on the Congress, the prime minister recently said important stanzas of "Vande Mataram" were dropped in 1937, which sow

Vande Mataram at 150: The song that became India's freedom anthem

Vande Mataram 150 years: Composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875 and set to music by Rabindranath Tagore, Vande Mataram became the rallying cry that united India's freedom movement

Song of India: New book clarifies why Tagore composed the national anthem

Several songs competed to become India's anthem after Independence. Dr Mukherjee's book debunks myths about why Tagore composed his song and how it came to be chosen

Tagore's handwritten letters fetch ₹5.9 crore at AstaGuru auction

The set of 35 letters auctioned was penned by Rabindranath Tagore to sociologist, musicologist and confidante Dhurjati Prasad Mukerji

Tagore's ancestral home vandalised in Bangladesh over parking dispute

Rabindranath Tagore's connection to Rabindra Kacharibari, now in Bangladesh, dates back to the 19th century, when his grandfather, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore, purchased the estate

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2025: 100 timeless quotes to inspire students

India is celebrating the 164th birth anniversary of one of India's greatest thinkers, poets, and philosophers, Rabindranath Tagore. Here are his 100 quotes to inspire students to dream big

Bank Holidays 2025: Are banks open or closed today on May 9? Know more

Banks in Kolkata (West Bengal), India, will remain shut today, Friday, May 9, 2025, because of Rabindranath Jayanti, as per the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) holiday calendar for 2025

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2025: Is Pochishe Boishakh on May 7 or 8?

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti is annually marked on the 25th day of Boishakh, the Bengali month in early May. This year, Rabindranath Tagore's 164th birth anniversary will be on May 7, 2025

Chinese envoy hails Tagore's efforts, bats for stronger ties with India

Recalling Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's initiatives to bring India and China culturally closer, Chinese envoy Xu Wei on Tuesday stressed further improving bilateral ties between the two nations. Wei, the Consul General of China in Kolkata, was speaking at a programme in Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan to mark the end of the centenary celebration of Tagore's 1924 visit to China. "Tagore had advocated improving cultural ties between the two countries, and had visited China 100 years ago. Relations between our two countries are very good," he said on the inaugural day of the two-day programme titled 'Marking the end of the centenary celebration of Rabindranath Tagore's visit to China in 1924'. Hailing 75 years of India-China diplomatic relations, Wei said, "There is every possibility, potential and great scope in further improving our bilateral ties and we are proceeding along that path." He was speaking at the function organised by 'Cheena Bhavan', the Department of Chinese Stud

CM Yogi opens address in Japanese as UP inks MoUs with Yamanashi Prefecture

After the signing of the MoUs, CM Yogi emphasised the growing economic cooperation between India and Japan, by delivering his opening remarks in Japanese

Assam govt renames Karimganj district to Sribhumi; CM Sarma justifies move

The Assam government on Thursday changed the name of Karimganj district in the Barak Valley to Sribhumi, according to an official notification. The district headquarters Karimganj town has also been renamed Sribhumi town. "The Governor of Assam is pleased to rename the Karimganj district as Sribhumi district and Karimganj town as Sribhumi town," General Administration Department Principal Secretary Mukesh Chandra Sahu said in the notification. The changes will be applicable with immediate effect, it said. The Assam cabinet had on Tuesday decided to rename Karimganj district to Sribhumi. "Over 100 years ago, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had described modern-day Karimganj district in Assam as Sribhumi - the land of Maa Lakshmi. Today, the Assam cabinet has fulfilled this long-standing demand of our people," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said after the cabinet meeting. The decision to rename the district will reflect the expectations and aspirations of the people of the ...

Blinken quotes Tagore at Diwali reception, hails South Asian contributions

Blinken emphasised the significance of South Asian culture in the United States, highlighting that the country derives strength from its diversity

Rabindranath Tagore's 83rd Death Anniversary: All about the Bard of Bengal

Today, August 7, 2024, marks Rabindranath Tagore's 83rd Death Anniversary. The world remembers him as a poet, painter, composer, playwright, and social reformer

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2024: Are banks closed today? Check details

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2024: On May 8, 2024, banks remain closed in West Bengal due to the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2024: Date, celebration, quotes and more

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2024: Tagore was a great poet, writer, philosopher, novelist and more. Here's all you need to know about the Nobel laureate

Jaishankar visits school named after Rabindranath Tagore in Russia

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday visited a school named after Rabindranath Tagore in St Petersburg city in Russia and paid homage to the Nobel laureate. Posting a video clip of his visit to the school on X, Jaishankar, currently on a five-day visit to Russia, wrote, "Their passion for India was truly moving. See for yourself." "Delighted to visit the School #653 named after Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in St. Petersburg," he said. In the video, the minister was seen being welcomed by the students dressed in both Indian and Russian traditional attire. He was also offered a traditional delicacy. Jaishankar paid homage to a statue of Tagore installed in the school. A cultural programme was also organised for the event. Tagore had spent a significant amount of time in Russia, where he was influenced by its culture and literary traditions. His book 'Letters on Russia', written during his travels, vividly describes the details of the Soviet Russian scene of that time. I

Committee formed to prepare Bengali plaque on Unesco honour to Santiniketan

Visva Bharati University on Monday said a committee has been formed to finalise the new Bengali plaque in place of the earlier one on UNESCO recognition to Santiniketan as a heritage site. The committee will also look through the already prepared Hindi and English texts of the new plaque to see that it is according to the instructions of the union education ministry, spokesperson of the central university, Mahua Banerjee said in an official statement. She said the acting Vice-chancellor Sanjoy Kumar Mallick has been advised that the installation of the official text of the UNESCO statement recognizing Santiniketan as a heritage site is of "immediate priority" and the ministry was assured that the university has no intention for unnecessary delay in carrying out the work. The ministry was informed that soon after the receipt of the draft statement, a committee was formed to finalise the Bengali version of the text of the plaque and to look through the texts for those in Hindi and ...

Centre tells Visva Bharati to replace controversial plaques at Santiniketan

The Centre has asked Visva Bharati University to replace the controversial plaques commemorating UNESCO's award of World Heritage Site to Santiniketan, a varsity source said on Thursday. The Union education ministry has told the university to remove the plaques and replace them with ones having Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's name, the source added. Visva Bharati spokesperson Mahua Bandyopadhyay told PTI, "We cannot confirm anything about the plaques unless we have a written communique from the Union education ministry." Days after Santiniketan got the UNESCO tag on September 17, three plaques commemorating the honour came up in different parts of the campus having the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former VB vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty but did not mention Tagore's name, the founder of Santiniketan and Visva Bharati. This triggered an uproar from students, faculty and political parties. On October 26, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked Visva ..

Bidyut Chakraborty retires as Visva-Bharati VC after controversial tenure

Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty, whose five-year tenure in the central university was riddled with controversies including the land row with economist Amartya Sen and the UNESCO plaque issue, retired on Wednesday. In a notification, the varsity said that Prof Sanjoy Kumar Mallik, the principal of Kala Bhavana (Institute of Fine Arts), was appointed as the officiating vice-chancellor. Mallik will perform the duties of the vice-chancellor with effect from forenoon of November 9 until a new vice-chancellor assumes office or until further orders of the Ministry of Education, the notification said. The tenure of Chakarborty, who became the university's VC in 2018, was full of controversies that often took political turns and landed in courts. The varsity in April this year directed Amartya Sen to vacate 1.38 acres of land on the Santiniketan campus claiming he is enjoying it unauthorisedly. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took the side of the Nobel Laureate and personall