Bill in RS seeks revival of Nalanda university
The Nalanda University Bill, 2010, seeking to revive the ancient seat of learning at Nalanda in Bihar was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The bill aims at establishing a Central university in Nalanda, an ancient seat of Buddhist learning, to attract bright and dedicated students and teachers from across s
outh and south east Asia. The bill says that the university will also seek to understand Buddha’s teachings in the contemporary context and enhance research for greater interaction between Asian countries.
Introducing the bill, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna said the university will impart education and enable research towards capacity building in the domain of ancient science which was practised in Nalanda several centuries ago. It has been proposed that the Nalanda Mentor Group, chaired by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, will function as the interim governing board for one year or till the constitution of the governing board, whichever is earlier. Singapore’s foreign minister George Yeo is also a member of the mentor group. The proposed university will have collaborations with other old universities, including the Al-Azhar University of Egypt, Oxford and Cambridge Universities in Britain and Harvard University in the US. The university aims to contribute to the promotion of regional peace and vision by bringing together the future leaders of East Asia who by relating to their past can enhance their understanding of each other’s perspectives.
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