Shantiniketan tried to give birth to a culture that was Bengali/Indian in structure and outlook, yet had a significance for the modern world. In 1912 Rabindranath founded the Ashram-Sammilani.

It was a body of elected students with a teacher-in-charge who supervised the functioning of the school. Students' unions primarily look after the interests of students; they and other such associations are formed to protect their rights against the abuse of power by the authorities. A court was run by the elected students' body.

Whenever there was a complaint of a serious offence, the court session was held with the accused in a quiet place after dinner. The Sammilani met twice a month - once on the night of the new moon and the other on the night of the full moon. During his long stay among the villagers at Silaidah, Rabindranath realized that only self-reliance, self-rule and self-respect could free our rural population from their sense of weakness, poverty and inferiority; it is society that must rule, not a state imported from Europe.

The rural development/reconstruction programme of Sriniketan- Visva-Bharati began in 1922. Rabindranath applied the principles of the co-operative movement in Sriniketan; and as we know, he applied them everywhere - equal respect for each individual, equal partnership, equal distribution of material and spiritual wealth.