PM inaugurates new campus of Nalanda University

In a landmark event, Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly built campus of Nalanda University, located in Rajgir, Bihar, in the presence of the Governor of Bihar Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, CM Nitish Kumar, Nalanda University Chancellor Arvind Panagariya, and interim Vice-Chancellor Abhay Kumar Singh. The newly opened campus is situated close to the ruins of the original ancient university site. The campus has been developed at a whopping cost of Rs. 1,749 crores.

Key highlights

  • The campus comprises two academic blocks with 40 classrooms that can accommodate around 1900 students studying various streams.
  • The campus also has two auditoriums with a seating capacity of 300 people and a hostel for around 550 students.
  • Additionally, the campus provides various other facilities, including an international center, faculty club, medical center, commercial center, sports complex, and an amphitheatre having the capacity for around 2000 people, among others.
  • The new campus consists of six schools- Buddhist Studies, Philosophy & Comparative Religions; Historical Studies; Ecology and Environmental Studies; and Sustainable Development and Management.

About the restoration of the university

  • The idea of reopening Nalanda University was first proposed by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2006 during his address to a joint session of the Bihar legislature. The government of Bihar responded to the idea and started working on a redevelopment project.
  • The state assembly passed a bill in this regard in 2007 and allotted 455 acres of land for the project.
  • Under a special Act of the Parliament, the University was established on November 25, 2010. It was also identified as an institution of national importance. The university started its operations in 2014 from a temporary campus.
  • In 2016, former President Pranab Mukherjee laid the foundation stone of the permanent campus, close to the remnants of the historic Nalanda University.
  • Renowned economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was the first chancellor and Gopa Sabharwal was the first vice-chancellor of the university.
  • The university has signed MoUs with 17 countries to receive support for academic activities and promotes international students by providing 137 scholarships to them.
  • The university boasts the world’s largest library with over three lakh books and a large collection of manuscripts.
  • It is a postgraduate institute, offering Master’s and Ph.D. degree courses.

About the ancient Nalanda University

  • Nalanda University was founded in the 5th century CE during Magadha Kingdom. It was a prominent academic destination that attracted scholars from across the globe while offering teaching and learning facilities in a range of subjects, including Medicine, Buddhism, Ayurveda, Mathematics, Philosophy, Astronomy, etc.
  • The university rose to prominence under the patronage of the Pala dynasty during the 8th and 9th centuries.
  • Aryabhata, a renowned mathematician who discovered zero, was among the prominent educators at the university. Apart from him, noted Buddhist scholars Dharmapala and Silabhadra taught at the university.
  • The university had a rich library, known as “Dharma Gunj” or the “Mountain of Truth”, containing nine million handwritten manuscripts.
  • The university was discovered in 1812 by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, a Scottish surveyor. In 1861, Sir Alexander Cunningham identified it as the ancient Nalanda University.
  • It was destroyed by Bakhiyar Khilji by fire in the 1190s, or 12th century. The fire turned valuable knowledgeable sources into ashes.

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