Tagore referred to Lucknow's Bhatkhande Institute as university in 1940: Adityanath

Lucknow, Dec 18 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said the "university" status to Bhatkhande institute had a Rabindranath Tagore connection, and recalled a letter written by the Nobel laureate in 1940.

Adityanath said his government recognised the institute as a university in 2022 in view of Tagore and Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande's vision.

Speaking at the centenary celebrations of Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya in Lucknow, Adityanath said, "This occasion is very important for us because of the letter that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore wrote in 1940.

The chief minister claimed Tagore had referred to the institution as a university in the letter.

From Independence to 2017, governments came and went continuously, he said as he recalled his conversation with the then governor of Uttar Pradesh, Ram Naik, who had pushed for the recognition of Bhatkhande Institute as a university.

Adityanath said that efforts were made, and despite some delays, the proposal for a university, in accordance with the vision of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, was forwarded.

"In 2022, our government granted it university status, and today, Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya stands before us as the first Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya of Uttar Pradesh," Adityanath said.

According to the university's website, in 1926, Pt. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande established a music school in Lucknow, with the help of Rai Umanath Bali, Rai Rajeshwar Bali and other connoisseurs of Lucknow.

This institute was inaugurated by the then governor of Awadh, Sir William Marris and was named after him as "Marris College of Music".

On March 26, 1966, the then Uttar Pradesh government brought the college under its control and aptly renamed it after its founder as "Bhatkhande College of Hindustani Music." Further, on October 24, 2000, the Government of India declared the institute as a Deemed University.

Subsequently, the Uttar Pradesh government renamed it as Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya in June 2022, and recognised the institute as a university to reflect its broader commitment towards encompassing various art forms. PTI NAV SHS SHS