INDIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION IN RELATION WITH RABINDRANATH TAGORE’S EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

Rabindranath Tagore was one of India's iconic social reformers and educationalists in the Twentieth Century. The educational system he introduced in Santiniketan in 1901 in the form of Ashram Vidyalaya was appreciated and a unique example. In 1921, it was grown up into a higher educational institution named Visva-Bharati with the ultimate goal of making world citizens and achieving global harmony. Visva-Bharati includes Santiniketan and Sriniketan, the twin campuses where a multi-dimensional educational system was developed and practiced according to the needs of Indian society and human civilization in British-ruled India in the early twentieth Century. Considering its contribution and uniqueness, Visva-Bharati was affiliated as a Central University and “an institution with national importance" in 1951 by the Government of India. The educational philosophy, principles, and practices have influenced different educational commissions and policies of India in pre and post-independent periods. This study is a humble effort to determine the influences of Tagore’s educational ideas on different educational policies in India.