In heaven, the Nobel Lauerate Rabindranath Tagore must be feeling happy, as his residential school Santiniketan has been inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List.

With this Santiniketan becomes the 41st UNESCO World Heritage Site in India and the third in West Bengal, after the Sundarbans National Park and the Darjeeling Mountain Railways. Last year, the state's Durga Puja got space in 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity' under UNESCO.

The decision was announced by the international agency on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee is being held till September 25.

There had been repeated efforts in the past to secure the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site for Santiniketan, especially in the run-up to Tagore's 150th birth anniversary in 2010.

Reacting to its inclusion on the heritage site list, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, 'Delighted that Santiniketan, an embodiment of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's vision and India's rich cultural heritage, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is a proud moment for all Indians.'

The Shantiniketan was established in 1901 by the Rabindranath Tagore. It was a residential school and centre for art based on ancient Indian traditions and a vision of the unity of humanity transcending religious and cultural boundaries. A 'world university' - Visva Bharati - was established at Santiniketan in 1921.

According to the nomination dossier submitted by India, which is essentially a document submitted to justify why the specific nomination is fit for inscription on the list, 'Santiniketan is directly and tangibly associated with the life, works and vision of Rabindranath Tagore and the pioneers of the Bengal School of Art. It exhibits the crystallisation of their ideas of internationalism, humanism, inclusiveness, environmentalism and a pan Asian modernism.'

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X: 'Glad and proud that our Santiniketan, the town of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, is now finally included in UNESCO's World Heritage List. https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/1703412671247450227?t=byuMKeT88fxMsaSe7XhIQw&s=19