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With the awakening of national
consciousness in the early years of the last century, a few notable
efforts were made in British India to improve the system of education prevalent in India during that time. Gujarat Vidyapeeth,
started by Mahatma Gandhi, aimed at preparing youth to serve and
uplift the rural masses; Shantiniketan
tried to bring the cultures of the East and West into Universal
harmony; Jamia Milia
tried to educate the Muslims in keeping with the needs of the main
Stream of National life; and the Gurukul Kangdi aimed at preserving the cultural heritage
of the nation keeping with the requirements of the modern age.
Inspired by the same spirit, Pandit Janardan Rai Nagar established the 'Rajasthan Vidyapeeth' in 1937 to uplift the down-trodden
common man in the feudal state of Mewar.
Started as a night Study Centre for the Elementary, secondary and
Advanced Courses in our national language Hindi, Rajasthan Vidyapeeth has grown into a large complex of
more than 50 institutions spread over several districts of
Rajasthan.
Historically, Rajasthan has been a paradise for
knowledge seekers, as it has a rich and Royal cultural heritage in
the form of manuscripts, historic documents, icons, epigraphs and
monuments. Late Manishi Pandit Janardan Rai Nagar's
initiative and vision led him to start the Prachin
Sahitya Shodh Sansthan in 1941 to preserve, edit, translate
and publish old manuscripts. Probably, it was a unique Institute of
its kind in Rajasthan, which was established for the conservation
of cultural heritage.
After the historic event of the unification of
Rajasthan, 'Hindi Vidyapeeth' added new
dimensions to its basic objectives. It became a leading
Non-Government Organisation during the
course of its journey and the founder Pandit
Janardan Rai Nagar renamed it as Rajasthan Vidyapeeth.
With the awakening of national
consciousness in the early years of the last century, a few notable
efforts were made in British India to improve the system of education prevalent in India during that time. Gujarat Vidyapeeth,
started by Mahatma Gandhi, aimed at preparing youth to serve and
uplift the rural masses; Shantiniketan
tried to bring the cultures of the East and West into Universal
harmony; Jamia Milia
tried to educate the Muslims in keeping with the needs of the main
Stream of National life; and the Gurukul Kangdi aimed at preserving the cultural
heritage of the nation keeping with the requirements of the modern
age. Inspired by the same spirit, Pandit Janardan Rai Nagar established the 'Rajasthan Vidyapeeth' in 1937 to uplift the down-trodden
common man in the feudal state of Mewar.
Started as a night Study Centre for the Elementary, secondary and
Advanced Courses in our national language Hindi, Rajasthan Vidyapeeth has grown into a large complex of
more than 50 institutions spread over several districts of
Rajasthan.
Historically, Rajasthan has been a paradise for
knowledge seekers, as it has a rich and Royal cultural heritage in
the form of manuscripts, historic documents, icons, epigraphs and
monuments. Late Manishi Pandit Janardan Rai Nagar's initiative
and vision led him to start the Prachin Sahitya Shodh Sansthan in 1941 to preserve, edit, translate
and publish old manuscripts. Probably, it was a unique Institute of
its kind in Rajasthan, which was established for the conservation
of cultural heritage.
After the historic event of the unification of
Rajasthan, 'Hindi Vidyapeeth' added new
dimensions to its basic objectives. It became a leading
Non-Government Organisation during the
course of its journey and the founder Pandit
Janardan Rai Nagar renamed it as Rajasthan Vidyapeeth.
Early sixties proved to be the landmark in the
history of Rajasthan Vidyapeeth when it
decided to meet the challenges, which started springing up after
independence. The first Prime Minister had deep faith in democracy
and he decided to spread the message of sharing responsibilities at
the grass-root level. As a result the Panchayati
Raj institutions came into existence.
Rajasthan Vidyapeeth also decided to join
hands with the GOI to share this responsibility and established
Community Centres Department and Janata College during the Second Five-Year plan. The objective was
to provide benefits to the people of remote villages. It was the
beginning of the full-fledged Institute of Adult & Continuing
Education. During this period, Vidyapeeth
started the new unit, which is called JANPAD, with the objective of
propagating the knowledge of day-to-day local and national affairs
for the urban society through black-board / broadcast service mass
communication being the aim.With the dawn
of independence, there was a dire need to provide opportunities for
higher education to the underprivileged section of the society,
specially in the Tribal belt. The Evening College (Shramjeevi College) was the outcome of this idea. The basic objective of
establishing the Evening (Shramjeevi)
College was to admit the students who worked during day-hours and
wanted to educate themselves for better job opportunities. During
this period Rajasthan was also emerging as a potential state of
Union Government of the India. Availability of trained professionals for industry /
business was the urgent need of the time.
Keeping this in view, Vidyapeeth
initiated a Postgraduate course in the discipline of Social Work(MSW). Today, a large number of its alumni
are working in various positions in Personnel and Management field
throughout the country and abroad.
A number of other institutes like Higher Secondary School, Secondary School, Post-basic School and the Centre for Fine Arts were also started by Vidyapeeth to provide education to all the
sections of the society. The College of Teachers' Training was another major event on the path of
progress of Vidyapeeth during the
seventies.
A special features of Rajasthan Vidyapeeth administration is what we call the 'Janatantriaya Shilanyas'
(Democratic Foundation), i.e. its democratic way of life and work. Vidyapeeth is organized and run entirely by its
workers and its basic philosophy is to provide opportunity of
participation to each worker in the decision making process through
various constituent bodies. The entire administration is divided
into three-spheres or streams-social, educational and general
management administration. Each of these spheres has its own
elected or nominated leader and body for the management of its
affairs.
The prestige enjoyed by it during all these
years is reflected in the fact that eminent personalities like Late
Shri Bhopal Singh, Maharana
of Mewar, Dr. Karan
Singh of Kashmir, Shriyut Srimannarian, Mahapandit
Shri Rahul Sankrityanan, etc. have graced the chair of
Chancellor of Rajasthan Vidyapeeth. The
eminent persons, who visited Vidyapeeth,
include Pandit Jawahar
Lal Nehru, Jai Prakash
Narain, Vinoba Bhave, Mrs. Indira
Gandhi, Dr.Rajendra Prasad and Dr.Radha Krishnan. Col. Tod
completed his historic book 'Annals and Antiquities of Rajputana' during his stay in the campus of
this institution.
The year 1987 was the landmark in the history of
Vidyapeeth when the Ministry of Human
Resource Development, Government of India and the University Grants
Commission granted it the status of a Deemed-to-be-University.
Since then, a number of different types of courses, including
professional ones, for the benefit of the society, have been
launched. Its guiding objectives have invariably been to provide
research based qualitative education to community through
preservation and conservation of our socio-cultural values.
The institution is not only spreading its wings
of education in the country itself but has also entered into the
area of international studies through academic exchange of its
students and faculty members to Slippery Rock University a prestigious University of USA. This is a step forward to the academic excellence
and towards providing opportunity to the students and teachers of
Rajasthan Vidyapeeth.
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