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The revival of Nalanda as an international center for learning was proposed by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam back in 2006. This university was established through the Nalanda University Act, of 2010.
Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new campus of Nalanda University near the ancient site of Rajgir. This university draws its inspiration from the historic Nalanda University, which was a renowned learning center over 1,600 years ago in the ancient kingdom of Magadha, now Bihar.
What is the history of the university and why is its revival significant?
The History
Emperor Kumar Gupta of the Gupta Empire established the ancient Nalanda ‘Mahavihara’ or Nalanda University in the fifth century A.D. For the next 800 years, Nalanda was among the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world and attracted students from around the world including China, Mongolia, Tibet, Korea, and other Asian countries.
The level of teaching was exceptionally high, and admission here required passing a rigorous test administered by a teacher. The subjects at Nalanda ranged from mathematics and astronomy to philosophy and Buddhism.
The Destruction
Regarded as one of the world's first residential universities, it was set ablaze in the 1190s, by a Turko-Afghan military general Bakhtiyar Khilji. It is said that the fire was so massive that it kept raging for almost three months, completely destroying the university and reducing its massive library with over 1 crore books and manuscripts, to mere ashes.
Six centuries later in 1812, the university was rediscovered by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, a Scottish surveyor and it was identified as the ancient university in 1861 by Sir Alexander Cunningham.
The Revival
The revival of Nalanda as an international center for learning was proposed by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam back in 2006. This university was established through the Nalanda University Act, of 2010, which provided for implementing a decision arrived at the second East Asia Summit held in the Philippines in 2007 to establish the university.
The new university started functioning in 2014 from a makeshift location with only 14 students. Now the new campus of the university has come up close to the site of the ancient ruins of Nalanda.
The Brand-new University
The university has six schools including the School of Buddhist Studies, Philosophy & Comparative Religions; the School of Historical Studies; the School of Ecology and Environmental Studies; and the School of Sustainable Development and Management.
This university, apart from India, has participation from 17 other nations which have signed MoUs in support of the university, including Australia, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, and South Korea. The university currently has students enrolled from across the world in different programmes including USA, Argentina, Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Modi has often spoken of making the 21st century an Asian century. With the inauguration of the campus of the new Nalanda University, it will mark a significant step in that direction.
The campus is a 'Net Zero' Green Campus, designed to be self-sustaining with solar power installations, domestic and drinking water treatment facilities, a water recycling plant for reusing wastewater, 100 acres of water bodies, and numerous other eco-friendly amenities.
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