নারীশিক্ষার উষালগ্নে শান্তিনিকেতনে রবীন্দ্রনাথের লিঙ্গসাম্যের উদ্যোগ/ Quest for Gender Equality: Rabindranath Thakur's Initiatives in Santiniketan at the Dawn of Women's Education

Abstract

In 1901, when the ‘Brahmavidyalaya’ was established at Santiniketan, women's education and active participation of girls in the ashram were not prevalent. However, Rabindranath Thakur's earnest desire for women's participation, women's education, and the enrichment of the ashram through their 'Sree' and 'Kalyanasparsha' is evident in his various essays and letters to contemporaries. Testimonies from biographers of Rabindranath reveal the same. While women's education did not receive priority at the time of Visva-Bharati's foundation, Tagore later emphasized it with great importance. On one hand, his philosophy of women's education was expressed in essays such as 'Streeshiksha' and 'Sreebhavana sambande amar adarsha', and on the other, his inner aspirations were articulated in letters to eminent persons of Santiniketan, notably Manoranjan Bandyopadhyay, Ajit Chakraborty, and Hemlata Sen. The introduction of women's education with the daughters of Santiniketan's dignitaries and the inception of co-education in a conservative society was not smooth.

          This paper discusses Tagore's philosophy of women's education, the introduction of women's education in the early phase of Santiniketan, the construction of women's hostels, the participation of girls in various ashram activities, and the reflection of Thakur's educational ideals. Against the colonial education system, Rabindranath's educational philosophy through indigenous education played a significant role in nation-building. The formative period of women's education in the early phase of Swadeshi education took a distinct shape through Tagore's relentless efforts at Santiniketan. The primary objective of this paper is to outline how Rabindranath’s thoughts on women's education evolved and were manifested. This paper also focuses on how the women's hostel, as an integral part of ashram residential life, became an 'alternative' space and a site of self-discovery for its residents. The erudite women of Santiniketan, predominantly from upper-caste and upper-class families, dedicated themselves to Tagore's mission of building the ashram. From their memoirs, we sense how they spent joyful times as students, residents, and ashramites in close proximity to Rabindranath, a time they revisited in their recollections.