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Rajya Sabha approval
NEW DELHI : On August 21 the Rajya Sabha
unanimously passed a Bill to establish a
transnational university at Nalanda in Bihar, a
dream child of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
Sixteen countries, besides India, are part of the
university and a full-time vice-chancellor will head
it. Perceived to be an amalgam of ancient and modern
thinking, it will be guided by an interim governing
board, chaired by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
Nalanda, situated 90 km south east of Patna, near a
village called 'Bada Gaon', still has the ruins of
the ancient Nalanda University, which, according to
studies, existed in the fifth century AD. The
studies also said the ancient university had 10,000
students and facilities like nine-storeyed library
building.
The Nalanda University Bill, 2010, which seeks to
establish a teaching campus on 441 acres drawing
students and faculty from across South and South
East Asia, was passed by the House after a scholarly
debate.
The debate saw Karan Singh (Congress), Sitaram
Yechury (CPM), NK Singh (JD-U) and M Rama Jois (BJP)
at their erudite best recalling India's rich
contributions to the culture and civilisation of the
world.
Quoting the head of the Mentor Group, Amartya Sen,
the JD-U member said, "When Oxford (UK) was being
inaugurated, Nalanda was being destroyed -- it did
represent transition of knowledge from Asia to
Europe. We want to rebuild Asia and regain knowledge
leadership. Nalanda will become an icon of Asian
renaissance."
Replying to the debate, Minister of State for
External Affairs Preneet Kaur said prominent
academicians would be roped in to run the university
and added that a global competition will be
organised for design and architecture of the
university. She said that the university will have a
vice-chancellor and other officials to run the
affairs of the institution, primarily focusing on
Buddhist studies.
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Nalanda varsity Bill gets Lok Sabha
approval |
NEW DELHI : On August 26 the Lok Sabha
adopted the Nalanda University Bill, 2010, which has
already been approved by the Rajya Sabha, to set up
a Rs 1,005 crore international university at Nalanda
in Bihar, where a varsity for Buddhist learning
existed over 800 years ago.
Replying to the debate, Minister of State for
External Affairs Preneet Kaur said the Ministry had
taken upon itself to establish the university
because it was an international effort by the East
Asian Summit comprising 15 countries. The Union
government would provide land for the university,
which would be established through voluntary funding
from the East
Asian Summit members.
Singapore had announced funding of $ 4 million - $5
million for the Nalanda university's library through
private donations .
Ms. Kaur said the Bill provided only a framework and
structure for the university and that further
constitution of the institution and its rules and
regulations would be done later.
In the beginning, the university would have six
schools for different studies, but the Board of
governors had envisaged opening another school for
information technology.
The Nalanda Mentor Group, chaired by Professor
Amartya Sen, will draft the statutes for the
university. It will have schools of Buddhist
Studies; Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies; International Relations and
Peace Studies; Business Management in relation to
Public Policy and Development Studies; Languages and
Literature; and Ecology and
Environmental Studies.
Till such time the varsity becomes sustainable on
its own, it will function as a public-private
partnership. The Bihar government has acquired 500
acres of land in Rajgir, near the original Nalanda
University site.
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